Sacred Illusions
by Teddi 8347
Summary: Ash wants to be a great Pokemon Master. There are just two things that prevents this; Ash is a Pokemon and Delia doesn't want Ash to leave the home, let alone Pallet Town. Just what sacrifices have to be made for dreams to come true? Just remember; Nothing is really as it seems. *rating may be high but I don't care*
1. Chapter 1

**AN; I don't own Pokemon. If I did; ORAS contest halls would have been the same as their original counterpart; Normal Rank in Slateport City and so on.**

 **This story was inspired by a couple of stories where Ash is a Pokemon in disguise. I'm sure all of you who knows Pokemon would know what Pokemon he is. Please enjoy the story.**

* * *

It's a warm and calm night in the town of Pallet. Professor Oak is finishing his preparations for the new trainers who received their trainer license this semester. He is just finishing up the last Pokédex, though this one would be for a special trainer.

There are four trainers who earned their trainer license that would receive them from him; two of them are Pallet Town's favorite. His grandson, as arrogant as he is, which is probably his fault for not explaining about his elders' success isn't his own, has a brilliant mind for Pokémon behavior; a trait for both researching and training. And while he is happy his grandson is getting his first Pokémon from him, his eyes are set on another trainer who might be a bit more important than his grandson.

Yes, a trainer who his grandson has already considered his one true rival. A title he gave when they were still very young, barely met for the first time if his memory is correct.

Professor Oak stopped working on the Pokédex to look at the Pokéballs for the trainers. More specifically he is looking at the Pokéball that is different from the others; a special Pokémon and a special Pokédex for a very special trainer indeed. When the child said they wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer, well, both he was surprised by this and yet not. A part of him knew it was going to happen, but hearing it when he did, well, it was quite unexpected.

The future ahead promises to be interesting, but right now, it's late. Professor Oak finishes with his preparations and head to bed. He needs his rest to deal with the trainers in the morning. He knows tomorrow is going to be an interesting start for this milestone.

* * *

The sun shines brightly over the small town. It rises higher and higher as time moves on. The quiet town slowly comes to life as the night ends and the day goes on. The bright rays of the sun shine down and warm the air.

A small black and red fox whines awake as the bright rays of the sun disturb its peaceful sleep. It tries to curl up tightly so the sun can no longer bother it and sleep some more. It almost fell back to sleep before it realize what this day is.

Suddenly bursting with energy, the small fox jumps out of its human bed and change shape to that of a ten year old boy with black hair and golden-red eyes, dressed in travel clothes and ready to leave for an adventure. The boy rushes out of his room only to come back in to grab his travel pack.

He looks at a full body length mirror to make sure nothing is out of place. Satisfied everything is where it should be, the boy runs out of his room, down the hall, down the stairs and into the kitchen where a young woman is cooking. The boy grabs some toast from the toaster and was about to head out the door when something grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Hold it right there," the woman says, pulling the boy back. With a stern voice she asks, "What's so important you were willing to break my 'no eating on the run' rule?"

"I have to get to the lab to get my license before all the Pokémon are gone!" the boy says almost desperately. He really wanted to be there before his rival and the other trainers so he could get to know the Pokémon and chose the right one. "I'm sorry Mom, but I have to go or I'll miss my chance."

"Not like this, you're not," the boy's mother says in her sternest voice. "Your illusion isn't stable and you haven't had breakfast yet. Please eat or I assure you, you won't be going anywhere until you've mature. Do you understand me?"

"What do you mean my illusion's unstable?" the boy asks as though he didn't hear the threat. He reached to somewhere unseen and pulls something out. "I have the charm on me, see?"

The woman grabs the charm the boy held out and studied it. These charms are made by witches to help people and Pokémon hold their illusions better. There are many different charms for Pokémon but this one was made so its wearer would be human. Even today's technology can't tell the difference between humans and Pokémon using an illusion while holding a charm like this. There is only one downside to this.

"It seems the spell has been expired," the woman says. "Eat your breakfast while I see what I can do with this, alright sweetie?"

"Okay," the boy says disappointedly. He sits down at the table while his mother walks off with the charm in her hand. Not for the first time does the boy wished they could get better charms.

They had to get the charms from a black market or something like that. His mother said bad people could follow a 'paper trail', whatever that is, to find those who purchase these charms and do some terrible things to them. The downside is these charms aren't made to last. And with money and sources being tight, the user, the boy, had to do whatever he could to make them last.

But now, with no charm his mother wouldn't let him leave. She made it clear when he declared to become the best Pokémon Master and the first Pokémon to do so. She says if he doesn't have something protecting him from the bad humans, she's not letting him go. Right now, the boy thinks it's unfair.

'What human can tell if I'm a Pokémon?' the boy thought as he ate his breakfast. 'They have poor eyesight and an even poorer sense of smell. Not only that, but they can't understand Pokémon, unless they're psychic. But they won't be a problem; I'm part dark, they can't read my mind or even harm me.'

The boy looks at the clock in the kitchen. It's getting late. If he wants to see the Pokémon, he has to leave now. The boy looks around to see if his mother is nearby; she wasn't.

'All I have to do is meet the Pokémon and get my license. It shouldn't take more than an hour and then I'll go straight home.' He looks at his plate to see all the food gone.

'Well,' he thought, 'Mom wanted me to finish breakfast and I did. I'll only be gone for an hour at most. Once I'm done with the Pokémon stuff I'll come straight back. Nothing bad is going to happen between now and then.' With that, he put the dishes in the sink and quietly, but swiftly, head out of the house.

* * *

"If it isn't Ashy-boy," another boy ten years of age says as the black hair boy comes up, "Late to the party, as usual."

"Would it kill you to be nice, Gary Oak?" the boy asks a bit irritated. "And what do you mean I'm late to the party?"

"Man, you are so slow, aren't you?" the boy, Gary, says as he shakes his head amusingly. "What I mean is the others and I already got our Pokémon."

"What?" the boy says as color drains from his face. 'He's joking, he's has to be joking.'

"Yeah," Gary says as he spins his new Pokéball on his finger. "We've arrived early and Gramps agreed to give us our license and Pokémon." Catching the spinning Pokéball, Gary smirk at the boy, "I got the last one and you know what they say, 'you snooze, you lose'."

The boy quietly growls at him. Gary pushes him behind him and faces the crowd also known as the Farewell Supporters.

"Fellow citizens of Pallet Town," the young Oak address, "I, Gary Oak, will be leaving this town as a beginner trainer. When I return, the entire world would know of this little town…"

"Like your champion father and grandfather hasn't done that already," the boy interrupts. Small, amusing laughter came from most of the supporters. All Gary did is deflate a bit in annoyance but he didn't turn around.

"I thank you all for your support on all of the trainers here today and in years past," Gary says after he calmed down from the interruption. "I hope you continue to support every trainer for many years to come. Thank you."

The crowd applauds the speech while cheerleaders chants Gary's name over and over again as the crowd disperse. Gary steps away from his adoring fans while pushing the boy out of his way and the sight of others. The boy didn't notice his illusion flickered for a moment with that, and it seems neither did Gary.

"Wow, for a moment I wondered if I was still asleep and dreaming," the boy says bitterly. "There's no way you made that speech up all by yourself."

"That's what happens when you have a mind as brilliant as mine," Gary boasts. "But you wouldn't know with your dense head."

"If having a brilliant mind means I'm arrogant, then I'll keep my denseness, thank you very much," the boy shoots back calmly, though baring his teeth, which are now slightly sharp. Not that either boy noticed.

"At least I am always on time," Gary shoots back, stepping closer to the boy.

"You cheated this morning by arriving early," the boy says as he steps closer.

"Perhaps if you rise with the sun, you would have had a Pokémon by now," Gary says as they stare into each other's eyes, golden-red turning into red locked onto dark viridian; challenging each other and neither looks like they would back down.

"That's enough!" a voice says with authority. The two boys break their eye contact to see who spoke.

Professor Oak stands on the path to his lab but his eyes are on them. His eyes show he isn't pleased with them. He waits patiently but both boys knew they were in trouble.

"If you boys are done," the professor starts still staring at the boys, "I need Ashton to come with me and Gary; you are supposed to be on Route One."

Gary wanted to protest, and had even opened his mouth to, but the look Professor Oak is giving him cause Gary to fall silent. The tone Professor Oak used tells the boys he doesn't want any arguments with him and expects both boys to comply with his wishes.

Inside the lab, Professor Oak went into his office and got the boy, Ashton, to sit down. Once the boy is settled, Professor Oak closes the door and sat down at his desk. He stays silent, whether it was so he could gather his thoughts or so Ashton could, the boy doesn't know.

"What are you doing here," Professor Oak finally asks. Ashton looks up at him confused. Why would the professor ask?

"I came for a Pokémon and my license," he answers as calmly as he could. He really didn't want to be in trouble. But judging the look on the professor's face, he's already in deep trouble.

"Your mother called me earlier," he explains. Ashton's face paled at the news. He forgot his mother and Professor Oak talk. Does this mean his mother knows he's there? "She informed me you would be running late today and yet here you are. I'm going to assume you haven't told her you were coming?"

It wasn't really a question and Ashton really didn't feel like answering him, though the answer is pretty obvious. Instead Ash just looks anywhere but at the professor. It doesn't stop the feeling of needing to justify his actions.

"I made this walk thousands of time before and everyone is nice and nothing has ever happened before," he say pretty quickly as his voice rises slightly with every word he says.

"And yet the only ones who know you a Pokémon are me and your mother!" Professor Oak says with his voice just barely keeping out of the yelling level. Ashton was about to resort back when his eye caught his reflection.

It takes a moment to see it clearly, but when he could Ashton felt his heart dropping. His eyes are unnaturally red and his teeth are sharp and semi-sticking out. He would almost pass as a vampire if his skin was pale.

"You haven't mastered your illusions under the best circumstances yet," he hears the professor say calmly. "What makes you think you could have handled any situation had I not have been there?"

Ashton doesn't answer. Memories of the morning pass through his head. Sure, there were a few times it almost got out, but humans won't notice.

Then he remembered the cameras. Even if the humans didn't see it at the time, would the cameras have caught it? Most likely. And chances are if people kept looking over the footage, someone would notice and start asking questions. If people start asking question, his mother would make sure he never hears the end of it.

If Gary hadn't pushed him out of view, someone would have noticed.

Ashton realized something then; what if Gary found out? Knowing him, he would battle and catch him without a thought. And then what? Gary would probably use him to get more attention.

Had Gary notice the changes? Had he figured his secret out?

No, if he had he wouldn't have let the opportunity slide. Not in a million years would Gary give up the chance to be better, special.

But how could he have not noticed? They were inches away from each other! Surely Gary noticed the eyes he was staring into weren't normal. Maybe they weren't too far off. Maybe his eyes and teeth really changed once they weren't looking at each other.

Professor Oak sat quietly as Ashton thinks over what he's done. He doesn't know what Ashton is thinking, but he hopes the child would see what the cost might be for breaking rules. He cares for the child just as much as the child's mother, but he knew he can't protect them forever.

"Well, let's not think too hard on this right now," the professor says breaking the long silence. "You still want a Pokémon, correct?"

"Yeah," Ashton says, his voice starting to break as he struggles to control his emotions. "But Gary said he got the last one."

"The last, traditional starters," Professor Oak corrected while heading out the door. He heads towards the room with the starters. "I have a special one for you."

"But…" Ashton starts while watching Professor Oak press a few buttons on the capsule.

"I know you wanted to talk to all of the potential starters to see which one would fit you," the professor interrupts. The center of the capsule opens to reveal another Pokéball. Professor Oak picks it up and hands it to Ashton. "But this one insisted on being your starter."

"Who is it?" Ashton asks as he takes to ball from the professor. He inspects the Pokéball for any clue on who is partner might be. The emblem on the top is a lightning bolt. Ash is pretty sure he doesn't know any electric type Pokémon.

"Why don't you find out," the professor says, much to Ashton's annoyance. "I will say this; it was caught last night and still has its wild personality."

Ashton considers this; an electric Pokémon with a wild personality. It sounds so familiar but nothing is coming to mind. Realizing standing there and thinking about is going to take him nowhere; Ash opens the Pokéball.

As the light forms into the Pokémon, Ashton's mind starts working in overdrive. He doesn't know an electric type with a wild personality. But he does know a Pokémon, who happens to be very protective over him, favors a certain electric Pokémon and is pretty wild around humans. Only this Pokémon made it clear he did not want to leave.

The light takes the form of a seemingly ordinary pikachu, shaking off the effects of being trapped in a Pokéball. Everything about it; the color, the shape, the cheek sacs, the size and the tail all points to a healthy normal male pikachu. But his eyes, while a brown, has hints of red, and his smirk when he looks at him _almost_ seems not like a pikachu but can certainly pass as one.

To anyone else, this is a normal pikachu. But to Ashton, this is a Pokémon pretending to be a pikachu. And is certain he knows this Pokémon. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, this Pokémon is the one who always has to protect him, the one who declared never to leave home, when he opened his mouth and said; "Hello Ash."

* * *

 **Yes, I ended it on a bit of a cliff hanger, didn't I? And not much has been said about Ash's life and past. I wanted it to be different form some of the other stories. Please tell me what you think in a kind and considerate way. If there are any mistakes, please let me know.**

 **On another note; does anyone here want me to continue one of my other stories? If so, which one? While I can't say I'll finish them, I can say that as long as I have people who want to see my stories, I will try my hardest to write them out.**

 **Also, no promises on when the next chapter is coming out. I wanted to wait until I reached Pewter City, but I'm not feeling so great so I figured to see what this gets me. It's the anniversary of Sparky's disappearance...**

 **Have a nice day! Or, at least, try to...**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I Don't Own Pokemon!**

 **Sorry for the wait. I hope you would enjoy this chapter.**

 **I have got to be honest; I had this nearly finished when I posted the first chapter. The reason it took so long is I figured to have the next chapter aka chapter 3 finished before posting the next one aka this one.**

 **Then life went in the way and I had to stop for over a month and... you know how it goes.**

 **If anyone has problems with Misty or Misty-Ash relationships in general, please hit the back cotton and forget this story even existed. If you can't, then please keep an open mind before hating my story. I happen to like Misty and ship her with Ash since... either Pokemon 2000 or the Tower of Terror [the one where Ash and Pikachu died] episode...**

 **Anyway, Misty is going to be a part of this story... She's just not going to be in until chapter 4.**

 **Please tell me what you think of this chapter and how I can maybe make this story better. There are a few things I won't do, like romance until... who knows when, but I will keep your suggestions at heart when writing.**

* * *

Outside the lab, Gary leaned up against the gatepost. He hasn't moved much since his grandfather took Ashton inside. And from the looks of it, he doesn't plan on moving any time soon.

"Good morning, Gary," a woman's voice says softly. Gary looks in the direction of the voice, which happens to be next to him. A woman with brown hair, Amber eyes and the gentlest smile you can imagine walks through the gate carrying a tote bag.

"Good morning Mrs. Ketchum," he says with a smile of his own. A genuine smile, not the cocky one he gives Ash. "Ashy-boy is inside getting his Pokémon and license."

"I figured as much," she says with a sigh. Something tells Gary that Ashton aka Ash left without her permission, again. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that one."

"Just let him go," Gary says before he even realizes he said something. Seeing her less than happy look, Gary hasty explains; "I mean, he's old enough to care for a Pokémon not to mention he isn't content staying in Pallet Town when everyone he knows is going off on an adventure."

Gary looks away from her and to the lab, thinking. "I know you love him and care for his safety, but think about him; there is a bigger world out there and he knows it, want to not just see it but also live it. If you try to make him stay, well, I don't think the Ash we all know and love is going to survive, you know? He'll just be a shell…"

He stops rambling when Mrs. Ketchum puts one of her hands one his shoulder. She gives him one of her softest smiles and says, "I get it. You don't need to explain it."

"I know," he says with a sigh. "I know you love him; any good mother would. Just…"

"Just, what?" Mrs. Ketchum asks when Gary trailed off. He knows she doesn't like the idea of her child leaving and not come home and would do what she can to prevent it.

Looking straight into her eyes, not to challenge her, he says, "Just trust him enough to know he'll take care of himself."

Mrs. Ketchum was caught off guard with that and she wasn't sure what caught her off guard; that Gary would imply she doesn't trust her child or that he speaks the truth and she wasn't ready to see it.

It's not like she doesn't trust Ash to be careful and stay safe; she just knows the dangers of the world a lot better than even Professor Oak. But she can't expect to force Ash to stay and be happy about it. And if she did force it, would Ash just run away? No, she'll make sure of that.

"Ok," she finally says. "I'll think about it."

Gary releases the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He really though Mrs. Ketchum would have been angry with him for even suggesting letting Ash go. Everyone in Pallet Town knows how protective she is of her son so thinking about letting him go is really a huge step.

"By the way," she starts, causing Gary to tense, "why are you out here? Shouldn't you be in there getting your Pokémon?"

"I already have mine," he answers. "I'm just waiting for Ash to get his Pokémon." Noticing her confusion, Gary explains; "Knowing Gramps, he has a special one picked out for Ash or else he would have us all wait until the last trainer came."

"That's not why I'm confused," she says slowly. "Why would you be waiting for Ash?"

"Oh, right," he says as though he just realized something. "I want to challenge him to a Pokémon battle before we leave. You know, get our rivalry started?"

"As if it hasn't already," she mutters in a deadpan voice. Straightening herself out, she gives him another of her warm, gentle smiles and says, "I'll be sure to tell him you're waiting."

"Thanks," he says as she walks up the path to the lab. Gary just hopes everything would go right with Ash. He doesn't want to start this journey without a good rival to keep him motivated.

* * *

"Hello Ash," the pikachu says almost as a taunt. Ash's mouth just hung open as he tries to process this. This is considered a normal reaction to anyone hearing a Pokémon speak, especially if this Pokémon is entrusted to them. But for Ash, well…

"My BROTHER!?" he finally says, turning to Professor Oak. "You're telling me my starter is my brother?"

"I love you too, Ash," the pikachu says semi-sarcastic and with an eye roll.

"He insisted," Professor Oak says. "And I couldn't find a better Pokémon suited for you."

"Part of the reason I wanted to go on a Pokémon Journey is to get away from my over protective family!" Ash says with his voice threatening to yell.

"Hey!" his brother protest, still as a pikachu, "it's only over protective if we force you to wear ridiculous padding, call us every five minutes, tell us everything you're doing and drag you home INSTEAD of me trying to be your Pokémon!"

"There has to be another Pokémon," Ash says desperately.

"I'm sorry, Ash, but he's the only one left," Professor Oak apologizes. "There really isn't any other."

"But there has to be!" Ash yells. His illusion flickers violently for a few moments. It wasn't enough for a human to catch it and determine what it was, but his brother is a different story.

"Where's your charm?" he asks Ash, jumping on his shoulder to look. "You know you're not supposed to leave home without it."

"It expired," the human boy disguised Pokémon says bitterly.

"What?" the pikachu disguised Pokémon says in shock. "But we just got it last week!"

"We didn't get it new," Ash says harshly, trying not to let the illusion drop. "Either it was a bad spell or someone else had used it before me."

"Great, just great," his brother says while jumping off his shoulder. "Now how are we going to convince Mom to leave?"

"Oh, no," Ash says. "There is no 'we'. Not since you denied wanting to leave."

"That was before I realized how serious you are to this ridiculous idea!" his brother says as to defend his choice.

"It doesn't matter," Ash says while violently shaking his head. "You still said it and you meant it."

"I'm still coming with you!" his brother says, dropping his illusion showing to be a slate gray, black and red fox with red eyes.

"No you're not!" Ash says, also dropping his illusion. Ash looks just like the other Pokémon with darker fur.

Both foxes leaped at each other and started biting and wrestling each other. Snarls and yaps fill the room as they continue their assault, even after falling off the table.

"Could you two please cut it out?" Professor Oak says firmly. The two didn't hear him as they kept up their assault on each other. A part of him expected this but he still didn't want to deal with it.

"Rainbow and Ash Ketchum! Stop that this instant!" the voice of their mother says firmly. Immediately the two fox kits stopped what they're doing and look at their mother who doesn't look pleased. "You two are guests at Professor Oak lab, behave as such."

"Yes Mother," the two foxes say as one.

"Delia, what a surprise," Professor Oak says as he walks up to her. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I wasn't going to," she says, "but one of my children has been missing since last night and the other one left without a charm. And you know I don't like this idea of my two babies leaving like this."

"You know as well as I do that they are now of age were in the wild they would have started venturing on their own," he says, trying to protect the two in a sense. "If they want to leave, then they should leave."

"You have no idea what kind of monsters are out there!" Delia yells at him. "You don't know what they would do to them if they found them!"

"The same thing they would do if they knew they were here," the professor says as calmly as he could, given the situation. "As much as you try to deny it, they are no safer here than they are out there."

"At least I can protect them!" she argues.

"For how long?" he snaps. "How long can you keep protecting them until you're not here to protect them?"

"For as long as I can!" she says. Her entire body stance says she is ready to tear him apart.

"And what happens after?" he asks, not once flinching to the danger of an angry, protective mother. "When you are no longer there to protect them, what will happen?"

"That won't happen," she says easily, as though she expects it.

"Come on, Delia. You know as well as I do what kind of dangers are out there," he says. "You know better than I do about how a parent can leave and never return because of things out of your control.

"And when that happens, don't you want your children to be able to protect themselves? To one day be able to protect their family as you had protected them? How can they do that if you don't let them go?"

"This decision is not yours to make," she threatens, which is telling him to back down.

"It is my decision to make since I'm sponsoring them," he says while standing tall. "And if you have a problem with it then you should take it up with my friend."

"Fine then, I think I will," she says. "Just where is this friend of yours?"

"We should wait in my office," he says while trying to lead her there. He then turns towards the two kits and says, "Ash, Rainbow, could you please wait here while your mother and I talk about this in my office?"

"Yes sir/of course," the kits says while trying to look innocent. Professor Oak seems pleased with this but Delia looks right at them.

"No fighting!" she says firmly. "And if you want to get out your extra energy, then have a battle with Gary. He's waiting outside."

"Really?" Ash asks, jumping up in excitement. "Mom, can I go? Please?"

"With your unstable illusions?" his brother, Rainbow, says in disbelief with a shake of his head. "I don't think so."

"It shouldn't be a problem," their mother says while putting her tote down. "I brought some charms when I realized Ash had left. You can choose which one you want and challenge Gary to a battle. But come right back inside!"

"Thanks Mom!" Ash says jumping into her arms and giving her an affectionate lick. Then Ash went to the tote to look through the charms.

"Be good," she says while heading back to Professor Oak. As they head down the hall, she adds, "You kits have better be here when I get back!"

"Love you, Mom," the kits say in unison. Ash kept looking through the tote until they heard the door to the office closing. Ash then leapt from the bag with a charm, turns human, and went to the desk where he saw a tray with a Pokédex and Pokéballs.

"Mom is so going to kill us if she finds out what we're doing," Rainbow says before turning into a pikachu. "You know this means you're stuck with me."

"For now," Ash replies bitterly. "But once I get a Pokémon, then you can go on home."

 _"I did not let myself get captured in that cursed thing, just so you can abandon me at the first chance you get,"_ Rainbow says in the Pokémon tongue, pikachu dialect. _"Besides, someone has to be there to cover you when these charms fail."_

"Fine," Ash says as he is clearly tired of arguing with his brother. "Let's just get out of here before Mom finds out what we're doing and ban us from leaving the house ever again."

With that, Ash puts the tote of charms into his backpack and he and Rainbow casually walk out to battle Gary. Their mother said it was okay.

* * *

"Took you long enough, Ashy-Boy," Gary says as Ash and Rainbow came closer. "I was afraid you decided to chicken out."

"Not even in your dreams," Ash says, trying not to let Gary under his skin. "I heard you were waiting for me?"

"Yeah," Gary says, trying to read Ash. "Is your mother okay with this? Are you going on a Pokémon Journey?"

"Of course I am!" Ash says, irritated Gary thought otherwise. "Are we going to have a Pokémon Battle or not?"

"Well, we aren't proper rivals until we do," Gary says while pulling out his Pokéball. "Are you ready to lose?"

"Gary," Ash says while getting in a battle stance, "I was born to win!"

 _"Hue!"_ a cheerful voice calls out before either boy could send out their starter.

 _"Oh, no,"_ Rainbow says with a groan. _"It's Eve."_

A small brown and cream fox comes running up and pouncing on Rainbow. _"I am so glad I caught you! Now I can properly say good bye and good luck! And Gary is still here! Yay!"_

"Eevee," Gary says a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

 _"I'm coming with you, Master,"_ the eevee says simply. _"I'm not about to let you go off on your own without me by your side."_

"I think she wants to stay with you," Ash says, trying to be careful not to reveal he can understand Pokémon.

"Eevee, listen," Gary says as he kneels. "I know you want to come, but it will be too dangerous to bring you."

 _"All the more reason I should go!"_ the eevee protested. _"Someone has to watch out for you and how can I stay home when I worry you won't be coming back?"_

"Eevee, you're not a battle Pokémon; you're a pet my parents bought to insure I know how to care for Pokémon when I get my license," Gary says though his patience is wearing thin. And so is Ash.

"Listen Gary, I don't have all the time in the world," Ash says as politely as he could. The he motions to a red convertible and says, "And unlike you, I have to walk to the next town."

"Alright, just give me a sec," Gary says as he stands up. "We'll discuss this later, Eevee."

"Go… Pikachu," Ash says to his partner while pointing at the battle field. He briefly wonders if he should have used his brother's name. Then again, calling a male pikachu "Rainbow" would be too weird. He'll have to think of something.

 _"On it!"_ Rainbow says as he runs onto the battle field.

'A pikachu?' Gary thinks as he studies the situation. He knows his starter doesn't stand a chance against Ash's starter. Still, he agreed to do this. 'Better make this quick.'

"Let's go…" Gary starts as he readies his Pokéball, but is interrupted by something small jumping onto the battle field.

 _"Me,"_ the Eevee says as she stood proudly between her master and her opponent.

"Wha… Eevee?" Gary says stunned by this. "What do you think you're doing?"

 _"What does it look like, Master?"_ she says, knowing Gary wouldn't understand her.

 _"I'm just going to start,"_ Rainbow says with a shrug. _"Taste my Thundershock!"_

"Rain… Pikachu, wait!" Ash says a bit too late. Rainbow has finished charging and had launched the attack straight as the eevee.

 _"Whoa!"_ the eevee says as she barely dodges the attack. She retaliates by trying to Tackle her opponent.

"Eevee, stop!" Gary orders but knew his eevee wouldn't listen.

The eevee's attack hit and she turned around and wagged her tail. Seeing her wag her tail, Rainbow relaxes his guard a bit. However, he realizes what she is doing and growls at her. The eevee feels a little threaten and hesitate a bit on her next attack. It misses and Rainbow starts charging his next attack.

"Oh, Come On, Rain…" Ash says in exasperation, stopping before he added Bow.

"Rain?" Gary asks while giving up on his eevee listening to him. "Did you just call your pikachu Rain?"

The Thundershock hit the mark. The eevee tries Tackle again, only to miss.

"Well, yeah," Ash says, struggling to come up with a good excuse. "I mean, Storm is a very common name for a pikachu, you know?"

The eevee whips her tail back in forth, causing Rainbow's guard to drop again.

"Yeah," Gary says, agreeing with Ash for once. "But, that pikachu is male."

Rainbow charges another Thundershock. But the eevee saw it coming and manages to dodge.

"I didn't want to use the name Storm," Ash says as he tries to defend the little slip-up. "And I can't think of anything better to use."

 _"Very smooth, Ash,"_ Rainbow says as he Growls at the eevee causing her to weaken her assault on him.

"How about Stratus?" Gary suggested. "You know, after the low-laying flat gray cloud formation?"

This time, when the eevee used Tackle, the Static in Rainbow's fur paralyzed her.

"Thanks for the suggestion," Ash says. Perhaps he should talk to Rainbow about changing his name. "But I like Rain. You wouldn't believe all the damage a rainstorm can cause."

Both Pokémon are hurt badly, but are still fighting. Rainbow charges another attack while the eevee is having trouble moving.

"Suit yourself," Gary says with a shrug. The eevee is hit hard with the Thundershock and fell down, unable to battle any longer. "And since Eevee is finally out; Go Squirtle!"

Gary threw his starter's Pokéball before Ash had a chance to react. The Pokéball opens in a flash of light. The light forms a shape which then fades to reveal a squirtle.

 _"Time to fight?"_ the squirtle asks. _"This should be fun!"_

 _"Oh, Come On!"_ Rainbow says in exasperation. _"I just finished a battle! Can't I rest?"_

"No fair!" Ash says in protest. "This was a one-on-one battle!"

"Okay, first off," Gary started, "we never agreed it was a one-on-one battle. And second; Eevee doesn't count."

 _"The look in that pikachu's eyes says differently,"_ the squirtle says with dread. A part of him knew how this fight is going to end. _"I think the experience of the last battle has made that pikachu stronger than me."_

"Fine," Ash says in exasperation with his hand rubbing his head. "Rain, make it quick."

 _"Thundershock!"_ Rainbow says as he charges up another electric attack. It was released so quickly, Gary didn't have time to send out an order. The squirtle didn't even have time to hide in his shell, though it probably wouldn't have helped much.

 _"AHHHH!"_ the squirtle screams as the super-effective attack hit hard. Once the attack ended, the squirtle fell down and was out of the battle. Neither trainer says anything for a moment.

"Well," Gary finally says a bit bitterly as he returned his Pokémon. "That was anti-climactic."

"Yeah…" Ash says a bit numbly. He was expecting a real battle, not this even though he _did_ told his Pokémon to end it quickly. Gary walks up to Ash and pulls out his Pokédex.

"Here," he says. Seeing Ash's confused look, he says, "the Pokédex has a system that automatically add or subtract money from your account every time you battle or buy/sell stuff. I just need to activate your account if you haven't already."

 _"I'm going to give Eve a Cherri Berry and an Oran Berry,"_ Rainbow says as he went through Ash's bag.

"Okay," Ash says, answering both, as he hands his Pokédex over. He waits impatiently as Gary presses the buttons on the little machine. "Is it going to take long? I'd like to get to the next town before nightfall."

"Almost done," Gary says as he keeps pressing buttons. "Just need one more thing."

"What's that?" Ash asks while trying to keep his cool. Second to last thing he wants is Gary finding out he's running away. The last thing would be his mother catching him in the act.

"Smile," Gray says as he held the Pokédex directly in front of Ash. He pressed a button before Ash could even comprehend what he is talking about. He hands the Pokédex back and says "All done. Smell you later, Ashy-Boy."

"Gary Oak!" Ash yells after the boy, who got into his car and drove off. "Next Time We Meet, You're Mine! You Hear Me?"

 _"Give it a rest Ash,"_ Rainbow says. _"Unless you want Mom to come out to see what the commotion is about."_

"Fine," Ash says while backing off. He turns to the eevee left behind. "Are you okay?"

 _"Yeah, I will be,"_ the eevee, or Eve as Rainbow calls her, says with a hint of sadness in her voice. _"Master Gary doesn't understand how I feel about this."_

 _"A lot of humans don't,"_ Rainbow says, trying to comfort her. _"But you shouldn't give up if you truly care for him."_

 _"I know,"_ Eve says with a smile. _"I'm going to have to catch up to him."_

"Are you sure you want to?" Ash asks a bit concerned for her safety. "You can stay with us until we meet up with him again."

 _"That okay,"_ Eve says with a shake of her head. _"I have the Run Away ability; I can escape hostile Pokémon and humans easily."_

 _"Well, if you're sure,"_ Rainbow says a bit uncertainly. _"But our offer still stands; you can travel with us until we meet up with Gary. And you wouldn't have to worry about food while we travel!"_

 _"Thanks,"_ Eve says with a laugh. _"But I'd like to do this myself, okay?"_

"That's understandable," Ash says though it is obvious he doesn't agree with her decision. But who is he to judge; he's running away from home without a good charm to stabilize his illusions.

 _"Hue,"_ Eve says while looking at the pikachu disguised Pokémon. " _Don't forget to practice the eevee illusion, okay? I know pikachu comes naturally for you, but I don't want you to slack in it either."_

 _"Yes, Ma'am,"_ Rainbow says with a mock salute.

 _"And Ash?"_ Eve says turning her attention on Ash. _"Please give your brother a chance. He loves you so much."_

"Fine," Ash grumbles not liking this promise. He wanted to get away from his family; not travel with them or have them following him.

 _"Now you siblings take care of each other, you hear?"_ Eve says before she turns around. _"I don't want to hear you two died because you weren't looking out for one another."_ She runs off while yelling _"You're Not Getting Rid Of Me That Easily, Gary!"_

Ash and Rainbow cringe with that. Eve only calls her master by his name when she is really mad at him for whatever reason.

"We should get going," Ash says to Rainbow.

 _"Yeah,"_ Rainbow agrees, already moving towards Route One. _"Before Mom finds out what we're really doing."_

"Hey!" Ash yells as he runs after his brother. "No Fair, Head Start!"

As they are running off, a wind blew towards and around the lab before it died. Now, no human would give this a second look. But to the Pokémon, they thought for a moment this was no ordinary wind. But this wind seems so normal they decided to ignore it.

But if they had paid attention to it, they would have known it was, in a sense, timeless.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Look in the profile for disclaimer.**

 **Okay, I have to be honest. I haven't finish chapter four yet. But with two chapters and 34 faves, 39 follows, I couldn't keep you guys waiting for much longer.**

 **As to why I haven't finished it yet... life is the main culprit. I want to get my original stories written up and published, but I can't seem to get then out on paper yet. Then I went to visit my sick grandma, she has an illness I can't spell but I'm going to try, dymensia, and it was very difficult on me. I was more depressed with her than with Sparky. And anyone who read that bit would know how important he is to me.**

 **I can't replace my grandma. And I can't replace Sparky. No one else would have had shared so many memories with me, living and stuffed. But I'm going to try to move on. I'll never stop looking for Sparky, but I'm not going to give up on my life either.**

 **The other big thing is I have another story idea, an original fan story, as far as I know, and I wanted to do that one instead. It a Pokemon one, big surprised there, but I feel it more than this story... and I feel bad for that.**

 **This one is very popular and I feel I should keep writing it just to keep it alive. But I don't feel it. Ash being a zoura was just something I thought I could make it better or different, but it wasn't something I came up with on my own.**

 **I am still going to write this. I just don't have a set time on when it'll be updated with my time being divided with my original stories, this other fan story and looking for a job. It could be a year from now for all I know.**

 **WARNING: Um, two of the characters that are in here are, I don't know, gender confused. Not in the way that they don't know what their gender is, just the animals don't know what their gender is. And they're the bad guys for this chapter... and the next.**

 **so, with that out of the way, please enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Ash and Rainbow ran through Route one until both are too tired to keep running. Ash put his backpack down and sat against the trunk of a tree. Rainbow climbs the tree and lie down on one of the branches.

"I wonder what Pokémon I should befriend first," Ash says while pulling out his Pokédex. "It would be great to get a new friend before we make it to the next town."

 _"Don't bet on it,"_ Rainbow says with a yawn. _"I'm still too tired from the battles with Gary and I don't think I fully recovered being inside that cursed thing. Without me there to weaken a Pokémon, chances are you're not getting one today."_

"You're only saying that because you know I'll force you home after I get a better partner," Ash says accusingly. "And I don't need your help to befriend another Pokémon!"

 _"Don't be stupid, Ash!"_ Rainbow says harshly. _"You're a human right now and unless you want Pokémon to know about us and spread our secret then Pokémon aren't going to trust you! Hell, even if you go in as a Pokémon, they'll think you're intruding in their territory!"_

"Says you!" Ash says.

 _"Says Mom, Professor Oak, many of the friendly wild Pokémon I asked AND our teachers!"_ Rainbow says before yawning. _"We'll just have to wait to catch Pokémon, okay? I'm tired."_

'I don't need to wait,' Ash thought as Rainbow starts to fall asleep. 'Pokémon here are generally weak and should be easy enough to capture. And if they don't want to come, then I'll release them.'

With that thought and his mind made up, Ash quietly and carefully pick up his backpack and slowly left the tree. He knew he shouldn't go too far from the tree so he made sure to always have it in his sights. But he does go far enough away where Rainbow can't hear him.

"Okay, this seems like a good place to find Pokémon," Ash says as he surveys the area. "I just have to get one before my brother wakes up or my mother starts looking for us."

To say Ash failed in catching a Pokémon is an understatement. He threw a Pokéball at a healthy pidgey, who popped out quickly and flew away. His Pokédex explains about healthy Pokémon has a higher chance of popping out of Pokéballs and recommends fighting them to weaken them.

A ratatta was caught eating, though not successfully, out of Ash's backpack which he put down to throw the Pokéball. Ash chased it away before he thought of using a Pokéball instead. His Pokédex didn't help matters by stating rattata usually lives in forest but come out to steal food from _stupid_ travelers.

All Ash knows is this isn't a good start.

* * *

Something woke Rainbow up from his peaceful slumber. As he stretch and yawn, he tries to think what would have woken him.

Ash wasn't there, though that shouldn't be a surprise. Ash always seems to act on impulse and never thinks things through. But Ash's absence isn't what woke him up, that Rainbow knows.

There isn't any danger nearby. And the area seems pretty quiet, not too quiet where something bad is going to happen, just enough to lull him back to sleep.

For a moment he thought about leaving to find Ash. But sleep seems so good right now and Ash knows how to take care…

There it is! But Rainbow wasn't sure what it is. It's not a sound or a scent or something he knows.

Soon Rainbow finds himself leaving the tree. He isn't following a scent or a sound; just his instincts, he figures, are driving him. Driving him where, he doesn't know.

Fear; he sense fear and… trapped? What does this mean? How can he sense fear and being trapped in someplace not normal?

He is brought out of his thoughts when he heard something. He slows down his pacing and breathing to hear it better. At first, he couldn't hear anything; not even some Pokémon calls. Just when he thought he just imagine the sound, he heard it. He's too far to identify what it is, but he definitely knows he heard something.

He runs off in the direction of the sound… which happens to be the direction he was running to in the first place. Using the speed of the pikachu, he was able to cover great distances in a short amount of time. And the padding on his feet kept him quiet.

 _"Please, help!"_ a desperate voice cries out from up ahead. Rainbow slows down as to not fall in any traps that may be there. He wouldn't be of any help if he got trapped as well. Hiding in a bush not far from where he heard the cry for help, he heard a semi-quiet squawk saying hopelessly, _"Someone, anyone, please…"_

"Quit you're whining," an unpleasant feminine voice says follows by a painful squawk; a very painful squawk and something that sounds like sticks breaking. "I don't know why we couldn't just leave; you're valuable enough. Why, I bet a lot of collectors would pay top money to have you. We don't need your supposed parent."

Rainbow carefully and quietly looks out from the bush he's hiding in. He could see a person standing threating over a cage holding a very hurt bird Pokémon. The Pokémon in question looks pretty bad. It's bigger than the birds that live around here but judging from its voice, Rainbow suspects it to be very young.

And very hurt. There's a lot of blood covering the poor young one and its wings look pretty bad; all twisted and mangled. Rainbow can't even see what feathers the young one has as it all looks burnt off, or covered in blood.

"Oh, Shut Up!" a masculine voice says. Another person comes up and Rainbow hides a bit more so they can't see him, just in case. "The parent is worth way more than this useless pipsquawk."

The person kicked the cage, causing the young bird to cry out in terror and in pain. Rainbow tries to get closer without giving away his location and can see the two people walking away.

One of them looks like a very attracted human lady, only her scent and voice is off; mostly female with some male and a deep voice. This is the one who just kicked the cage. The other one looks a lot like a woman too, but the scent is half male and half female. It's very interesting.

"Hey," the feminine man says. "We can't harm the young one any more than this or it will die before we can get its parent, if it has one. Also, its pip-SQUEAK, you birdbrain!"

"Don't you DARE start that with me!" the masculine woman says very loudly. Rainbow saw this person getting closer to the other person in a way a Pokémon considers an attack. The person's poster is very threatening, at least. "Don't forget; I'M THE ONE WHO GOT US THIS JOB!"

"Yes, and what a wonderful job it is," the feminine man says sarcastically. "We set up traps and stand for hours, if not days, hoping to get valuable Pokémon that can pay us a bus-load of money. And all we ever find are Pokémon anyone can get anywhere!"

"Look," the masculine woman says in expiration, "the trap for the parent is set and we did get plenty of Pokémon that are not normally found in this region. How about we go into town and get something to eat? Arceus knows I'm starving."

"That sounds fine to me," the feminine man says. "But you're paying since you're the one who got us this job."

"Whatever," the masculine woman says in defeat. "Let's just get out of here."

'I need to get into a safe place,' Rainbow thoughts. 'If those… whatever-humans-Mom-calls-them drive their car over here, I might get squashed!'

Rainbow quickly and quietly climbs a nearby tree. Good thing he did; those people did drive over his hiding spot. And as an added bonus, Rainbow can see their poorly concealed traps and the Pokémon they have caught and left behind.

All of the Pokémon looks to be in pretty bad shape. It even looks like the only one conscious is the "little" bird. Of course, Rainbow can't say for sure how bad anyone is from this far away. And yet, should he risk getting closer?

"Might as well," he mutters to himself, forgetting to speak in pikachu. "Can't save them if I don't know how to disarm the traps and open the cages."

Now Rainbow knows this is dangerous, so he walks as carefully as he can so he wouldn't get caught up in a trap. Even though the traps are poorly concealed, these people might have used them as a distraction and hid other traps really well. He soon threw that theory out when there weren't traps anywhere else.

 _"Help…"_ a weak voice says suddenly. Rainbow looks up from his careful walk around the traps to see the bird looking at him. Its red eyes shimmer with unshed tears and hold pain no young child should ever know.

 _"Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you here like this,"_ Rainbow says soothingly. _"I just need to find the right path to take so I can safely get to you and everyone else."_

The young bird, a fledgling if you want to be technical, relaxed after hearing those soothing words, which Rainbow is glad for. The last thing he needs is the Pokémon struggling and panicking. For now, Rainbow decides to take things one step at a time. If he gets caught in a trap, then chances are Ash and his mother would never know.

 _"I just need to be careful where I step,"_ he mutters as he inches closer to the cages. It felt like an eternity with his heart pounding in his ears as he carefully walks across the danger-zone. Soon, he was where the cages are and proudly says, _"I did it!"_

 _'Now, I just have to get them out and to safety…somehow,'_ he thinks as he begins looking around.

The cages are all pretty tough built; but a Pokémon with human-like hands could easily open them up. And while the cages are booby-trapped, it's easy enough to get around them. So easy, in fact, Rainbow could open all of these cages without setting an alarm.

 _'Wait!'_ Rainbow thought just as he was about to shift forms to start opening cages. _'How do I get the Pokémon to safety?'_

Only one Pokémon, out of many, was awake. But that Pokémon is so badly injured, Rainbow doubts it could move on its own. And what of the others? They are out cold; there's no way Rainbow could carry all of them to safety before the bad humans come back.

 _'There's really only one thing to do,'_ Rainbow thinks as he starts backtracking. _"I'm going to grab help. I'll be back soon."_

 _"NO!"_ the bird cries is terror. _"Brother, please. Don't leave!"_

That stops Rainbow dead. Ash has said the exact same thing when they were younger. The memory of when there was a storm and their mother was working at the family restaurant came into his mind. Rainbow wanted to take a look around but Ash was so scared and begged him not to go. They stayed huddled under a bed until their mother found them in the morning.

He promised he'll never leave…

But what can he do now? Back then they weren't in any real danger that needs the help of others. But if he leaves and those bad people come back before he could get help, then these Pokémon would be worse off than they are now.

 _'Ash!'_ he thinks desperately. He looks to the sky and yells, _"Help!"_

 _"What's all this ruckus about?"_ a female voice squawks. A flapping of wings comes shortly after and seems to stop somewhere above him. Rainbow looks up to see a spearow perched on a branch, looking at him. _"And what are you doing standing in a middle of a poorly laid out poacher's trap?"_

 _"Poacher's trap?"_ Rainbow asks before shaking his head. He looks at the spearow and says, _"I need help."_

 _"You seem to be alright,"_ the spearow says, though she is looking at him funny. _"Don't know why a Pokémon would go into the traps on purpose."_

 _"I was trying to free these Pokémon,"_ Rainbow explains. _"But they are really hurt and I can't carry them. I was going to leave, but this young one here doesn't want me to go."_

 _"And why were you leaving? Is there someone you can get to help?"_ she asks sounding a bit suspicious.

 _"Yeah,"_ Rainbow says while shaking off the uneasiness feeling he's getting. _"My trainer. If these Pokémon are wild, then he can catch them and get them help. But I can't leave to get to him."_

 _"So you need me to find him, correct?"_ the spearow asks, getting a nod from the pikachu. _"And how, exactly, do I tell him about this, or is he a zorua too?"_

 _"What?"_ Rainbow says in shock. How could this spearow know?

 _"My Keen Eye and Sniper abilities are… a bit strange,"_ she says with a shrug. _"Basically I can see through illusions, but not completely; just a shadow of what the caster is and where they are."_

 _"O…kay,"_ Rainbow says slowly. A whimper from the bird brought his attention back to the matter at hand, er, paw. _"Never mind, can you please get him? Just tell him his brother needs him. In fact, tell him about the, whatever-you-called-it, and tell him to ready his Pokéballs. We don't have much time left!"_

 _"All righty then,"_ the spearow says as she prepares for takeoff. _"I'll be back in a flash."_

Rainbow watches the spearow until she was out of sight. He looks back at the cages to see the young bird relaxing at his presence. It makes him want to get this one out now and harm those who wished to harm this one and the other Pokémon.

But he has to wait. There is no way he could get all of these Pokémon to safety quickly and safely. He could start opening their cages. Before he started with that, Rainbow looks to the sky and says, _"Please hurry, Ash."_

* * *

Now, the spearow didn't go straight to this trainer, oh no. She went to get her flock. If time is of the essence, then she needs help looking. And while only she knew what to look for, mainly the trainer, they could keep an eye out for suspicious looking humans.

"Why Can't Things Go My Way For Once?!" a human boy yells as he blindly threw a rock. The rock landed near a flock of pidgey. The pidgey flock flew away, though the spearow had to adjust her flight pattern to avoid getting hit. She looks at the foolish human to see what he's going to do next. But, to her surprise, his body seems more see-through with a fox shadow; not a human as she first suspected.

Some of the pidgey landed not too far from where they were before the unexpected rock. She sees the "human" picking up another rock. She follows his gaze and realizes what he's planning. She could even see a threat he couldn't from this far.

 _"I wouldn't throw that rock if I were you,"_ she says as she lands on a branch not too far from the boy. The boy turns around to find out where she is. The spearow rolls her eyes and calls out, _"Up here!"_

"What Do You Want?" the boy snaps when he looks up at her. His eyes, from what she could see, say he is about to kill something out of frustration.

 _"Two things,"_ she says. _"First; my brother happens to be in the area those pidgey landed. If you threw the rock there, it would upset him and you'd be under attack from his flock."_ She let him think for just a moment before speaking again. _"And second; a pikachu-disguised zorua has found some Pokémon trapped in a poachers trap and has asked me to locate his trainer to tell him to bring Pokéballs and help free the Pokémon."_

"What!?" the boy says with surprise and concern. "What are you talking about? Where is he? Is he alright? What…?"

 _"Stop it with the rapid fire questions,"_ the spearow snaps. _"We don't have much time for this!"_ Seeing the boy quiet down, but no less worried, the spearow adds with a sigh, _"We better get a move on and I'll explain what I know along the way. And grab your Pokéballs! You'll understand why when we get there."_

The spearow takes off and starts circling the area; waiting for the boy to grab his things. As she waited, she thought about what to do. She needs to show this child to the area the Pokémon are at. But should they go straight there or not? Does she have time to call her flock and let them know what's happening?

No, she shouldn't let her flock in just yet. She doesn't know what the poachers look like and when they would be returning. Once the boy starts helping the Pokémon, _then_ she can call in the flock and alert them. If any humans head that way, then they can give the Pokémon a chance to escape.

This whole thought process takes a bit longer to read than it was thought. In about two full circles around the area, the boy has his things and is ready to follow her. The spearow flies a bit lower and a bit slower than she normally does just so he can keep up and so he can hear what is needed to say. All the while she prays she is making the right decision.

* * *

 _"I'm tired,"_ the young bird says with pain evident in its voice. _"And everything hurts."_

 _"I know,"_ Rainbow says as calming as he could, trying to hide his frustrations the best he could. _"I wish I could take the pain away, but I can't and I'm sorry."_ He gets as close as he could but the bars of the cage prevents him from getting close. _"And I know you are tired now, but do you think you could stay up a little longer? Just until my trainer gets here."_

 _"Why?"_ the young bird whines before coughing. _"I just want to sleep."_

 _"Because my trainer will have something that can stabilize you until we can get you to someone who can heal you,"_ Rainbow says. _"They shouldn't be too long now."_

It had been a while since the spearow left to find Ash. Maybe she couldn't find Ash. Rainbow realized sometime after she left that he never described what Ash looks like or where the young trainer could be. All Rainbow could hope for is she is right about seeing through illusions.

And they would get here before those mean humans come back.

"Rainbow?" a familiar voice calls out. The voice fills Rainbow with a desperate hope as he looks in the direction the voice came from.

 _"Ash? Over Here!"_ he calls out almost desperately. He all but carefully ran into Ash's arms that held him tightly for a few seconds. The whimper of the young bird is what pulled them apart. _"We'll talk about separating and doing dangerous things later."_

"Hey," Ash protests, but chose to stay quiet when Rainbow gave him a glare. "What do you need me to do?"

 _"Did you register your Pokédex to send Pokémon back yet?"_ the pikachu-disguise zoura asks. Seeing the blank look on Ash's face, Rainbow face-paw and mutter something under his breath. _"You don't know how the Pokédex works, do you?"_

"Well, I know the basics," Ash says while pulling the Pokédex out. "Just point and scan, right?"

 _"For the love of…"_ Rainbow says with a frustrated grunt.

 _"If you two are done wasting time, would it be alright if I leave?"_ the spearow asks a bit bluntly.

"No," Ash says quickly. "We need you to keep an eye out for the ones responsible for this and warn us when they get close."

 _"Oh, great idea,"_ she says sarcastically. _"Send someone who doesn't know what they look like or how many to lookout for!"_

 _"It's two people,"_ Rainbow says. He quickly says, _"They both seem feminine but one is more masculine and the other have a masculine voice."_ Seeing the confusion written on their faces, Rainbow groans before saying; _"Just look for two people driving a car heading this way."_

 _"I'll get right on that,"_ the spearow says with a nod. As she takes off, Ash and Rainbow hear her saying, _"I hope I'm not too far from my flock."_

"So, how am I supposed to help, exactly?" Ash asks while looking around the traps and cages.

 _"Well, if you had registered your Pokédex to transfer Pokémon, then we would have warned Professor Oak about this and send them there,"_ Rainbow said, though he was very frustrated. He says the next bit in a defeated tone, _"Since you didn't; I don't know."_

Ash doesn't like the defeated tone his brother was using. And yet, Ash couldn't blame him for feeling this way. That is a lot of Pokémon and they all needed healing as soon as possible. If only there was a way to carry them AND stabilize them.

"That's it!" Ash says suddenly.

 _"What's it?"_ Rainbow asks as Ash hands the Pokédex to him. _"What's going on?"_

"The Pokéballs are design to keep Pokémon in stasis while traveling IF the trainer chose it or they are in critical condition," Ash explains as he goes through his backpack. "I need you to tell the Pokédex to put ALL of the Pokéballs, except yours, into storage mode after I catch the Pokémon. It should keep them stable until we get them help."

 _"How do you know that?"_ Rainbow asks as he does as Ash asks. _"You don't even know how to operate your Pokédex!"_

"Believe it or not, there are lessons I pay attention to," Ash says bitterly. He's a bit hurt his brother would be surprised he knew something. Then again, it's not like he has proven to know things that just so happens to be important. How was he supposed to know he needed to register his Pokédex?

 _"Brother?"_ a weak voice calls out. Both Rainbow and Ash went closer to the Pokémon in an instant. It looks at Ash with terror in its eyes and asks, _"Who's this"_

 _"This is Ash, my trainer,"_ Rainbow says, trying to sooth the young one. _"And Ash has something that can keep you alive until we can get help."_

"And it won't hurt," Ash says as gently as he could. He doesn't want to scare this one any more than it already is. "In fact, you wouldn't be able to know time has passed. It'll feel like you jump through time without the roughness of time jumping, I think."

The small bird didn't say anything. It just looked at Ash as though it was trying to see if the human is telling the truth. It seems to like what is sees as it didn't flinch when Ash opened the cage and pulled out a Pokéball. It didn't need any prompting to enter the small device and didn't struggle at all.

Ash and Rainbow stayed quiet for a moment. They weren't sure what to think. On one hand, Ash got his first Pokémon… but on the other hand, this Pokémon is critically hurt by people who cares for money more than other living creatures and would probably not make it if they don't get help soon.

"We better get a move on if we want to get everyone before those… monsters, get back," Ash says as he stands up and carefully starts towards to another trapped Pokémon.

"You do that," Rainbow says in the human tongue as he opens the Pokédex. "I'm going to send an emergency code to the Pokémon Centers and Law Enforcement. And no, I am NOT going to be explaining what I just said until we are out of danger and the Pokémon are safe!"

"Far enough," Ash says as he opened another cage and caught the unconscious Pokémon inside.

* * *

Even though there were a lot of Pokémon, it didn't take as much time as Ash thought it would. It was probably because they were all unconscious and doesn't know of the situation at hand. Either way, Ash was done getting the Pokémon sooner than he thought when he first saw them.

"Come on, Brother," Ash says while moving away from the traps. "We have to get out of here."

"Alright," Rainbow says as he puts the Pokédex in his mouth. He carefully got through the traps and onto Ash's shoulder before dropping the Pokédex in Ash's hand. "I finished what I was doing. The police should be here to catch the culprits and they can track us as we get to the Pokémon Center."

"Why the Pokémon Center?" Ash asks as he heads out of the area. "Wouldn't it be quicker to head to Professor Oak's Lab?

"Do you want to answer to Mom why we have severely injured Pokémon?" It was more a statement than a question, and using a question to answer a question isn't the polite way of answering, but Rainbow really doesn't care right now.

Ash knew better than to reply. And while he isn't happy that his brother did this, he understands how frustrated he must be. Plus, running into their mom, who probably wouldn't be happy with them, doesn't sound like the best idea even in thought.

 _"Poachers are coming!"_ their spearow ally says as she flies overhead. _"They're coming from over there,"_ the spearow points, well more faced, in the direction of Pallet Town. _"I'm going to get my flock. You two, GET OUT OF HERE!"_

Ash and Rainbow only wasted a moment to look at each other with fear before hurrying out of sight. They made it to behind a tree far enough away to escape unnoticed when the humans arrived.

Rainbow took the Pokédex from Ash and quickly took pictures of the poachers. Once it was done, he placed the Pokédex in Ash's pocket. The poachers didn't seem to notice the lack of Pokémon.

"Let's get out of here before the start looking for us," Ash whispered as quietly as he could. Not wanting to risk them hearing them, Rainbow just nods and quietly leads the way out of there.

"WHERE ARE ALL OF OUR POKÉMON!" a female voice angrily yells, shaking the ground… or so it seems. A part of Ash and Rainbow thought 'It took them long enough'.

"Why are you asking me?" a male voice says loud enough for them to hear. "You're the one who set the traps AND locked the cages."

"No, YOU did that!" the female voice says loudly. "You're The One Who Got Us This Good-For-Nothing Job!" Ash and Rainbow didn't hear what their conversation afterword is because they had finally gotten out of earshot.

The young duo quickly escapes the area those humans are currently in. Just when they thought it is safe enough to start talking, howls of dog Pokémon fill the air… and are getting closer.

 _"RUN!"_ both siblings shouted in their native tongue. Rainbow jumps out of Ash's arms and hurries ahead. Right behind them, a pack of growlithe chases them. Behind them, the two humans follow their growlithe pack on a couple of dodiro's back.

"Hey kid!" a female voice calls out. "Stop right there and give us all of your Pokémon!"

 _"Keep running Ash,"_ Rainbow says in the pikachu tongue as he dares to look behind. _"No matter what; keep running!"_

"Hey Kid!" the other human yells. "We're talking to you!"

Ash ignores them while trying to dodge the growlithe that are right behind them. The boy barely acknowledges when their spearow ally brought in her flock that are shouting; _"DIE WORTHLESS HUMANS!"_

Ash hears the two humans scream as the spearow flock attacked them. But he couldn't focus on that; the growlithe pack has separated him from Rainbow!

To make matters worse, he can't hear anything! Correction; he can hear, it's just with the spearow flock scream death threats, the growlithe pack snarling, the dodrio squawking in pain, and those humans making threats to the spearow flock, it's hard for Ash to focus on anything other than escaping.

The woods they're in is helpful for them on escaping their pursuers. Ash and Rainbow know how to run full speed in the woods without slowing down too much, unlike their pursuers. But with all the ways a Pokémon can advance and block the way, which is what the growlithe pack is doing, escape seems downright impossible!

And these woods are a bit dry this time of year. This is bad because the growlithe starts firing fire attacks at the spearow, Ash and Rainbow in hopes to stop them. Needless to say some of the drier grass and dead logs caught fire and quickly spread.

 _"Ash!"_ Rainbow, who is ahead apparently, cries out in alarm as fire erupts in front of him. Ash doesn't answer. The heat from the sudden fire burns so much that Ash has thrown up his arms in an attempt to shield his face, even though he isn't as close to the fire as Rainbow is. The smoke from the fire is making it hard to see and breathe.

 _"This way, to the clearing!"_ one of the spearow loudly calls outs. It makes sure Ash, Rainbow and its flock could see it before flying off. _"Quickly!"_

Ash and Rainbow moves as fast as they could. Luckily for them the winds are keeping the fire from blocking their path. But they still have to move quickly if they want to escape the fire as well as their pursuers.

The growlithe aren't giving up so easily it seems. They keep firing off their fire attacks in hopes to either burn their prey or to block their escape path. Ash isn't focus on them; just on getting out of these woods alive.

And hopefully, Rainbow would be there with him. And they can get to the nearest town, get help AND get these Pokémon treated. Everything would be fine once they make it to the clearing.

And make it they did. The clearing is a large place trainer's use for battle, and while it has the looks of a used field, there isn't anyone there. Ash isn't sure if this is good or bad though if anyone was there they might have left when they saw the smoke.

 _"Hey kid!"_ the spearow that lead them out says as it, he, flew in front of him. _"Don't rest now. Ya need to get out of here!"_

Ash doesn't answer. Instead, he is coughing out the smoke in his lungs and catching his breath… or at least trying to. His head is spinning and he isn't sure what is going on at the moment.

 _"Got you!"_ a voice growls in a threaten tone. Ash looks behind him to see one of the growlithe standing right behind him, getting ready for an attack. _"Now come quietly or die!"_

 _"Get Lost!"_ the spearow says as he attacks the threatening growlithe. A fight breaks out as the two tries to kill one another.

Ash stood frozen, not sure what to do. He really thought that once they reached the clearing, he and Rainbow would be safe. Wait!

"Rain…" Ash calls out before coughing. He has just realized that his brother isn't with him. Now with worry clouding his mind, Ash looks around to see if he can't find him.

The only thing he could see is the growlithe and spearow fighting. Seeing the spearow, Ash suddenly realizes he hasn't seen the rest of the flock either! Suddenly feeling very angry and without really thinking, Ash leapt at the growlithe.

 _"Now listen here!"_ he growls as he pins the growlithe down. _"I am in no mood for this. You WILL help us find our kin or I will end your miserable life. Understand?"_

The growlithe could only whimper in response. The human he was chasing has just turned into an entei and threatened his life! Even if that wasn't the Pokémon's correct dialect, it is still menacing. Suddenly he wasn't feeling very confident in his trainer's choices.

But for Ash, this was good enough. _"Good,"_ he says with a slight growl as he gets off. _"But if you do anything I don't like, then you're as good as dead, got it?"_

 _"Yes,"_ the growlithe says a bit timidly, afraid of being killed. _"I'll behave."_

The entei turns back into the human boy and motions the growlithe to lead. The spearow has watched this with his beak wide open and his eyes popping out of his head. He looks at the not-human as says, _"Kid, you need to learn some self-control,"_ and follows them.

* * *

Rainbow is having a hard time running. The sudden fire the erupted in his path has caused a nasty burn that only got worse the longer he's near the fire. And the smoke has done nothing for his sight so he ended up losing Ash and that spearow. And while he wants to worry about Ash's safety, he first has to get out of these burning woods AND not get caught by the growlithe.

While it's been hard, Rainbow thinks he might have a chance. The two humans that order the growlithe around has fallen back when the fire started which makes it a bit easier as the growlithe are a bit lost. That said; these growlithe seem to be trained to hunt.

 _'Don't stop now,'_ Rainbow thinks as he hurries under a falling burning tree before it crashes down. _'You have to get out, for Ash.'_

Suddenly, Rainbow was picked up by the scruff of his neck. Whoever picked him up was a ground runner, like him, though obviously bigger. Rainbow can't figure out what got him, but they were running through the fire easily now and he wasn't about to complain.

Suddenly the hot air cooled down very quickly, the air is much easier to breathe and it got brighter. Coughing out the smoke, which isn't that much thanks to his small size, Rainbow tries to get out of his savior's grip. He is put down gently but before he could see who saved him, it was gone.

He looks for clues but couldn't find anything. He thinks back to when he was picked up but everything is a blur and smoky. The one thing he thinks about his savior is its height, but that's only because of where he was dangled from its mouth. He'll have to test it with Ash.

"Ash?" he calls out as he suddenly realizes he's alone. The silence that follows just adds worry to his worn-out body. He pushes the pain from his mind and tries to think where Ash might be.

"ASH!" he calls out as loud as he could. There still isn't an answer. As he was about to call out again, the sounds of howls fills the air and reminds Rainbow he has to leave.

As he tries to stand, the burns on his body causes a lot of pain. In response to the pain, he collapses with a cry of pain. The pain subsides slightly and Rainbow is able to catch his breath, but when he tests out moving, he isn't able to.

"Rain!" the familiar voice of his kin calls out. In response, Rainbow tries to open his eyes to look, only to be lifted off the ground and into a comforting hug. "Oh, Rainbow, I'm so happy you're alive."

 _"Can I go now?"_ a very timid voice asks. Looking over the two siblings could see it was the growlithe that spoke up. _"I'd like to get out before my pack realizes what I've done."_

"No!" Ash says with such force Rainbow isn't sure who this person is. "You still have to find this spearow's flock!"

 _"It'll be alright,"_ the spearow interjects before things gets worse. _"My flock can take care of themselves. But you two need to get out of here!"_

"And why should we?" Ash asks angrily. Rainbow could only face-paw at Ash's obliviousness of the closeness of the fire AND his burns. Before he could tell Ash this, they hear two voices arguing.

"Now Look At What You've Done!" the female voice of the male human says accusingly.

"At What I've Done? This Whole Thing Was YOUR IDEA!" the male voice of the female human says violently.

Ash knew better than wait for them to get closer and see them, which Rainbow is glad for. As Ash ran, Rainbow dared to look back as best he could. The spearow flock seems to have found those humans and is chasing them. However the howls of the growlithe pack tells him that they are getting closer.

He is distracted by Ash's coughing. Its sounds like Ash could barely catch a breath. As Rainbow thought about it he realizes that Ash must have inhaled a lot of smoke! And add the running; it would cause the lungs to burn bad.

Before he could voice his concern, Ash stops. Rainbow looks to see why Ash stops to see a cliff above a river with no safe way down. He sees Ash look behind before turning that stupid league hat backwards and jumping off. He feels Ash holding him tightly before everything went black.

* * *

 **AN: I forgot to say, this chapter** ** _might_** **change depending what I add in the future two chapters.**

 **If there are any mistakes or anything I need to improve on, please let me know. If you have any questions, again please let me know. I probably won't answer them if it'll cause a lot of spoilers.**

 **Please be nice about it and double check you words. I will not tolerate poor grammar and hate-comments without good reason for it. I especially won't tolerate anyone saying things like "this is stupid", "I hate so-and-so. Why did you add them?", "Do us a favor and die" and the like. It hasn't happened to me, yet, and I do hope you readers would respect me enough to not do it.**

 **And please forgive me for the poachers. I wanted to do something different and this was the result. Do they sound like siblings or an old married couple that can't seem to get along? That is what I was going for.**

 **I am now going to wait for my parents and sister to come back with one of our cats. She's not doing well and we're making sure it isn't anything serious.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I do not own Pokemon.**

 **This chapter didn't want to be written! It didn't help that I had other things to do, but still!**

 **Please enjoy.**

* * *

"My children are not going to risk their lives on something that hasn't happened yet!" Delia yells at the Pokémon in front of her. She has been talking with the professor and his friend for hours and she wants to see if Ash and Rainbow are done with their friendly battle yet.

 _'But it has already happened, Miss Delia,'_ said Pokémon telepath-spoke softly. _'You see, the boy they save is very important to this timeline. If he isn't saved then all of this would cease to exist.'_

"What makes you think my children are the ones who'll save this boy?" the woman argues. "It could still be anyone for all you know!"

"I know this is hard to understand…" Professor Oak says as gently as he could. But Delia isn't having any of it.

"HARD TO UNDERSTAND!? You're saying my children risk their lives to save someone WHO DOESN"T EVEN EXIST!" Delia yells as she got into their faces. She didn't notice the look both of them had before Professor Oak stood up from his seat.

"Delia Ketchum," he scolds in a soft voice. "You need to stop this right now or your children would be more hurt with you than without you."

"You don't know what you are talking about," Delia says in a growl. "I will protect my children with everything I have, even my own life."

"And what happens after?" the professor asks, not at all threatened by her. "Once you sacrifice your life and they live, then what? I'll tell you what won't happen; they won't k know how to defend themselves, they won't know how to tell which humans AND Pokémon are friend and which are foes, they won't know how to gather food, they won't know how to use money and they won't know what to do when one or both of them gets hurt!

"You think you are protecting them. No, you _believe_ you are protecting them, but you are dead wrong. And your children would be the ones to suffer. If nothing else, trusts their father to look after and protect them."

Delia just left his office with a slam of the door. Professor Oak sighs while slumping into his chair. His friend just looks off into the distance before settling into his lap.

"How long until she realizes they left," the old and tired man asks. He almost dreads the moment she learns this meeting was just to distract her from them escaping.

 _'Not until late tonight if things go right,'_ his friend says. _'They are known to play tricks on the town and not be back until dinner. By then, they should be in the next town.'_

"And all I have to do is distract her long enough for them to leave that town before she arrives there," he says with a sigh. Out of everything he's been through, nothing seems more dangerous than a very overprotective mother trying to shelter her babies from the dangers of the world. Although, the time he saved his friend comes pretty close.

* * *

The Viridian City Pokémon Center has been very busy today. It is the official day trainers can get a starter Pokémon AND their license. Not only that, but trainers whom are traveling seems to be flocking here, not that Nurse Joy minded much.

Suddenly an alarm went off. Nurse Joy got a chancey to take over while she checks. It's a new system that warns Pokémon Centers and Law Enforcement of Pokémon abuse and/or poachers from nearby trainers. It's been tested but not used yet, until now.

Nurse Joy looks at the data coming in and her eyes went wide. The data is coming from a Pokédex, one Professor Oak made for his trainers. And yet it wasn't registered to him, or at all in general. But looking at the ID she realizes this is one of the trainers he warned her about, the one with an overprotective mother.

"I need all available chancey in the office ASAP," she says on the intercom. Once the intercom was off, she types on the computer to get all the information they'll need to treat those Pokémon. The chancey comes in all ready for action and are awaiting orders.

"We have a [enter code here]{I didn't want to make up a code}. A new trainer has spotted injured Pokémon captured by poachers that are in need of medical treatment," she pauses so the chancey could have time to process the information. "Here are the files of the injured Pokémon. I need you to break up into teams and get everything ready. The new trainer is on route to Viridian City…"

A sudden beep from the computer stopped Nurse Joy from finishing. She went over and starts typing on the computer. What she saw on the screen causes her to be alarmed.

"Everyone, we are in a state of emergency," she says to the chancey. "A fire broke out where this trainer is and is spreading. I need you to set up the burn unit for all of the Pokémon living in the area. And two more for small fox Pokémon. Now Go!"

The chancey scatter and started grabbing supplies from everywhere they could. Nurse Joy went back to the computer and pulls up the emergency line for other Pokémon Centers, the local Firefighters and the Police Station. With how this day is getting, they'll need all the help they can get.

* * *

"Well, this has been a great day," a red-head girl mutters sarcastically under her breath. "I found the best fishing spot at the best time of day, only for a fire to start upstream."

She can see the smoke from where she is. And she saw firefighter Pokémon heading in to combat the fire not too long ago. She doesn't have anything to inform her of evacuations or to pinpoint her location. But she is certain there is someone looking for people in danger of the fire.

She seems to be far enough away from it and no one has come to her location, she could keep fishing. However, she doesn't feel like taking a chance to stay here and risk getting trapped. And having her sisters say "I told you so" is the last thing she wants.

"I better pack it in. Before the fire spreads here," she sighs as she starts reeling in her line. At that moment she got a bite. "Oh! A bite and it feels like a big one! I suppose one more fight is alright."

It says a lot about her strength to pull out something heavier than her without losing her balance and still have the stamina to do it again. She could win the tug-of-war with a rampaging gyarados, if the line is strong enough to hold… and if gyarados weren't her least favorite water Pokémon. Sadly, her catch wasn't a water Pokémon.

"Oh, it's just a boy," she says disappointedly. She then notices a few things; the boy is holding onto something tight, it was a pikachu and neither of them has moved since she fished them out. Worried they might be hurt, or dead, she hurries over to them and checks them out. There was a pulse, but it was quiet and slow.

"Oh, there has to be something I can do," the girl says worriedly as she looks around. She held a few of her lures, those she dubbed as her "lucky charms", close. "Ok, I should do… CPR! Try to get the water out of their lungs."

As she did this, she also placed one of her lucky charm on each of them, hoping it would help. It didn't take long until the boy and his Pokémon coughed out the water and where breathing on their own. But neither of them woke up.

"This is bad, what do I do?" the girl wonders as she looks around. The smoke from the fire seems to be getting worse and a storm is starting to move in. Not only that, but she could hear howls of dog Pokémon, and they are getting closer.

Knowing she's pressed for time, the girl went through her supplies. She attached a rack to her bike and a makeshift seat, with a back and belt, on the rack. The she put the pikachu into her front basket before attempting to put the boy in the seat behind her.

"Rain…" the boy mumbles but didn't wake. The girl wasn't sure if he's calling for his pikachu, which is an odd name for him, or if he knew the storm is coming. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and made sure the boy is secured.

"Ok mister," she says as she got on her bike. "When you wake up, you are going to tell me how and why you and your pikachu were in the river." With that said, she sped off on her bike. Had she stayed much longer, she would have seen a pack of growlithe coming up and sniffing around.

* * *

Back on the ridge, Firefighters are struggling to contain the fire in the area. The best they could do is to stop it from reaching Pallet Town. But just in case, the citizens have been warned of the fire and a voluntary evacuation is underway.

They have been able to rescue some stranded travelers. Some were new trainers who didn't noticed the fire until it was almost too late, some were hikers, hiking around the area and some were just people traveling to and from Pallet Town. And then there were these two…

"I'm telling you Officer; we were out catching Pokémon when an arrogant kid tried taking our Pokémon," a human that looks like a male but sounds like a female, who claims to be Ryan, says. "We couldn't let that happen so we let our growlithe chase him away."

"Yeah, but we didn't realize just how dry everything was so when our growlithe sent out their flames, SHOOSH! The whole area is suddenly ablaze!" the one who looks like a female and sounds like a male, who claims to be Rani, say. "We didn't have anything to douse that big of a fire so we got out our dodrio and got out of there as fast as we can!"

"And the reason the wild spearow seem to want you dead is…?" the officer questioning them asks as another wild spearow tries to get to them. Some of the flock they had are being treated with burns and smoke inhalation, but those that aren't keep trying to attack these two and these two only.

"Probably because they think we're the ones who destroyed their homes," Rani says. "Of course spearow are known to attack anyone without reason."

"Tell me why you are in the area," the officer says as politely as he could.

"Catching Pokémon!" Rani says with frustration. "I fail to see why you should not see that!"

"Pardon for the questions but there has been reports of Pokémon Poaching in the area where the fire started," the officer says calmly. He did notice them fidgeting a bit, but says nothing. "We're just trying to get all of the information we can on everyone.

"Now, how many growlithe are missing?"

"All of them!" Ryan says. "We had them chase after that trainer who thought he could steal all of our Pokémon!"

"And those traps were expensive too," Rani adds before his partner hit him and told him to be quiet. The officer raises an eyebrow but didn't comment on it.

"And what Pokémon are these?" he asks.

"Very valuable Pokémon that would cost a fortune to own," Rani says before his partner hits him again.

"Officer!" a firefighter calls out. She holds up a tablet, signaling him that she has something to show him. The officer signals he'll be right over before facing the two.

"If you'll excuse me a moment," he says. He then turns towards his partner and says, "Keep an eye on them. They're the ones responsible for this fire."

He heads over to where the firefighter is standing. She was busy giving orders to try to contain the fire. When she was done, she turns to him and gave him her full attention.

"Hello Officer, sorry to bother you," she says.

"It's fine," he says. "You have something for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," she says as she brought up something on the tablet. "In the location of where the report, my team found the traps of poachers and a vehicle. We ran the license plate to see who owns the car, as well traffic cams to see where it has been. This is what we found."

The owners of the vehicle, a truck, are the two people he was just talking to. The traps, though poorly concealed, would cause massive injuries on the caught Pokémon. And the traffic cams of Pallet Town show them getting something to eat before heading back.

"Thank you," he says.

"Just doing my job," she says before shouting orders. The officer heads back to where his partner is trying to keep the peace between the two people.

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Ryan yells as the other one kept on talking about thing that probably shouldn't be said. "ACREUS KNOWS YOU'RE GOING TO GET US INTO TROUBLE!"

"You are already in trouble," the officer finally says as he grabbed one of them and cuffed them. "You are under arrest for setting the fire…"

"That was an accident!" Rani whines.

"And endangering the local Pokémon," the officer says, ignoring the two. "For illegally poaching…"

"What are you saying?" Ryan asks. "We have done nothing like that!"

"For illegally poaching in a protected area and leaving harmful objects unattended," he says while trying hard not to harm them. "And for sending a pack of violent Pokémon after a child in an attempt to kill."

"So what?" Ryan says, interrupting the officer. "Even if you have proof, we'll be out before long. And our growlithe are trained to hide all evidence of heir hunt. You'll never find the boy."

"Now who's the one that needs to stay quiet!" Rani exclaims.

"Why don't you read them their rights?" the officer asks his partner and another officer, who came up to see what the commotion is all about. His partner nods before doing just that. Meanwhile, the officer pulls out his radio.

"Attention all units!" he says. "Be on the lookout for a young boy about ten to eleven years old and a pack of wild growlithe. The boy is being hunted down by the growlithe and may need medical attention. This boy is also a key witness to the poaching and may have the Pokémon with him."

At the corner of his eye, he could see the spearow attacking the two poachers who were trying to escape. The spearow stopped their assault when the officers caught them again. Once the poachers were in the car, the spearow, that could, flew off towards Viridian City and towards the coming storm.

xxx

xxx

The girl expertly pedals her bike through the woods, on her way to Viridian City. The storm not only has violent lightning strike, but is raining heavily. It's hard to see with all the rain and its making everything wet.

The only good thing about it is it is making the forest harder to burn. Which is good; she is being chased by a pack of growlithe. The girl has no idea why the growlithe are after her, but she doesn't want to find out.

"Rain…" the boy mumbles loud enough for her to just hear. She could feel the shift of balance of her bike as the boy moves a bit.

"Stay calm," the girl says without looking back. "You're on a bike, we're ridding thru a storm and a pack of growlithe is chasing after us."

"What?" the boy asks more aware than he had been. However his sudden movement almost made her loses control of her bike. If she hadn't corrected the movement, not only would they have fallen off, but they would have been hit with a fireball.

"Would you stop moving!" she yells while still keeping her eyes on the road. "It's hard enough to bike through this without it!"

"Sorry," he says. She did stop the correcting she was doing when he woke up. "Where's Rain…?"

"Your pikachu?" she asks, wondering why he trailed off. "He's up front. You wouldn't have fit in the basket."

A squawk from above was the only warning she had before a flock of spearow rained down. To her surprise, they only went after the growlithe. But the wind they caused while flying by her nearly got her bike to crash. Luckily she was able to correct it in time.

"Where are we?" the boy asks a bit dazed. Lightning flashes above them, illuminating the way, if for a moment. Thunder soon follows.

"We're on route towards Viridian City," the girl answers while trying not to crash. The spearow and the growlithe attacking in the middle of a downpour are really hard to bike though. "There would be time for answers later. I need to…"

She wasn't able to finish. A fire blast hit a tree causing it to fall on her path. She couldn't swerve out of the way with the spearow in the way and she couldn't brake as the ground was too slippery. So her bike hit the fallen tree and she and her passengers went flying. The seat she made wasn't very good in high speed crashes, it seems.

They hit the ground hard and the boy started coughing bad. The girl hurried over to him only to hear a pained squawk not too far away. Looking up her aquamarine eyes sees a severely injured bird and remains of a Pokéball.

"Oh no," she says softly as she took in the situation. The spearow flock is currently distracting the growlithe but they can't hold them back for much longer. There is a severely injured bird with what she assumes is its Pokéball shattered around it. Then there is the boy and his pikachu, both of them are having trouble breathing.

"Miss?" the boy calls out. It took the girl a moment too long to realize he's calling to her. She could hear the growlithe coming closer and surrounding them before the spearow flock chases them back. "Miss?"

"What is it?" she asks. She sees him taking the five remaining Pokéballs off of his belt and putting all but one in his backpack. He also pulls out an empty one and attached the two Pokéballs to the backpack before tossing it to her.

"In the backpack are Pokémon that are severely injured, much like that young bird over there," he nods his head to the direction of said bird. "The empty Pokéball is to replace the one it was in. It's broken, right? It's Pokéball? That's why it's out?" She nods her head slowly, trying to understand what he wants from her. "Rain… my pikachu, his Pokéball is the one with the lightning bolt emblem but he doesn't like being inside it. Please get them to a Pokémon Center ASAP! They won't last much longer without care."

"Wait!" she calls out as he tries to get up. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because," he says looking behind him. She could hear the growlithe fighting the spearow, "the spearow can't hold off the growlithe for much longer." Looking back at her she could see the pain in his eyes and the trust he's giving her. "I'm going to hold them off. Please take the Pokémon and get them the help they need."

"How do you expect to hold them off?" she asks. The flashes of lightning seem to get worse and the thunder seems to get louder as well.

"However I can," was his answer before he stood and faced the pack. Weighing her options, the girl picks up the items he gave her and heads towards the Pokémon.

* * *

'However I can,' Ash thought as the growlithe broke through the spearow's defenses. Deep down Ash knew this isn't a good idea.

 _"It's been fun chasing you,"_ one of the growlithe says with a growl. _"But since you admit where our masters' Pokémon are, we'll have to kill you and the girl too."_

"Those Pokémon don't belong to your masters!" Ash snaps. "And there is no way you're going to hurt the girl!"

The storm seems to intensify with his words. The growlithe blinks at his words, not expecting him to understand the words spoken. The growlithe shakes his head to get rid of the confusing situation.

 _"I didn't expect you to understand,"_ he says, looking at Ash. _"However, we must follow our masters' orders; even if we don't want to."_ He said the last part quietly to himself but Ash still heard him. Then the growlithe howls loudly, causing Ash to cover his ears.

At that moment, the last of the spearow fell and the rest of the pack came up. They fell into formation and waited for their leader to make the first move. Ash prepares for them the best he could, though he knew it won't be enough. He only hopes the girl has left by now with the Pokémon.

What Ash didn't know is Rainbow has heard everything. Thoughts of how crazy Ash is for trying to hold off a pack of wild growlithe is overshadowed by the danger his sibling is purposely getting in and the reality of losing said sibling, all so the Pokémon can get the help they need.

The girl had come over with his Pokéball. But the injured bird drew her attention away from him. He wasn't going with her; he was going to try to save Ash, even though he knew how foolish that is.

The lightning from the storm caused a lightbulb to go off in his head. He's currently a pikachu; pikachu gather the electricity from the storm to recharge. He may not need a recharge, but he knew the blast would be enough to stun the growlithe. And with luck it would draw the human authorities to them and get them help.

Getting to his feet was hard. By this point the growlithe has corner Ash so the not-a-human can't escape. Lightning lights up the sky as he ran. He made it to Ash's shoulder by the time the growlithe went on the attack.

Changing the ability of the species from static to lightning rod, Rainbow drew in the lightning and overcharged his sacs. It took only a moment but soon he released it in an uncontrolled explosion.

 _"Leave my sister ALONE!"_

* * *

The girl has just gotten to the bird the she noticed the pikachu running towards the boy. She had no idea what was going on until the pikachu gathered the lightning and exploded. At that point she couldn't really do anything.

To her surprise though, the injured bird had jumped in front of her and gave off a green glow. Even more surprising is how she didn't feel the explosion even though the trees behind her didn't survive. Soon it was over.

"What just happen?" she asks. Then she saw the bird in pain on the ground. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no."

She pulls out the Pokéball the boy said is for the bird and caught it. She puts it in storage mode, looks at it and says, "Please be alive. I'm going to get you help, I promise."

Looking up, she sees the growlithe and the spearow all knocked out and heavily burned. To her surprise though, the boy and the pikachu seem to be in better shape; no electrical burns.

"Mister?" she calls out. Very carefully she walks up to them and kneels beside them. She checks to see if they have a pulse, which they do. She then gently shakes them to see if they can't wake up. "Please wake up."

To her great relief, both the boy and the pikachu stirred. Oddly enough, the two opens their eyes at the same time and smiles when they saw the other one. A cry from above causes the three to look up. A giant bird with a golden hue flew right above them and right through the rainbow.

"What is that?" the girl breathes out.

 **"Identification; Unknown,"** a sudden computer voice says, making her jump slightly. She picks up the little red device from where it was lying on the ground. It must have fallen out during the blast. **"This Pokémon Is Not Native In The Kanto Region. Region It's Found In: Data Not Found. Saving Image To File For Further Analysis. There Are Still Mysteries Of Pokémon Are Still Waiting To Be Uncovered."**

It clicks off and the girl just stared at it. She looks up to see the rainbow fading. The girl lies on the ground, trying to calm her nerves. But as she looks at the two she fished out, her heart stop.

"Mister? Rain?" she calls out as she tries to wake them up. This time they didn't even stir. Panic tries to settle in her but she pushes it down.

She gets up and looks around, hoping to find someone to help. But all she could see is burnt trees, fallen trees and the spearow flock as well as the growlithe pack out cold on the ground. She can't tell if they are suffering from serious injuries.

"HELP! SOMEBODY!" she call out as loud as she could. But all that has rewarded her is silence. Not ready to give up, she tries again, "SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP! PLEASE!" Still all she got was silence.

In desperation she grabs the small red computer. She opens it up and tries to turn it on. While it did turn on, she couldn't unlock it.

 **"This Pokédex Is The Property Of Ashton Ketchum,"** the computer says. **"You Do Not Have The Proper Authorization..."**

"I don't care about proper authorization!" the girl snaps. "I need to call for help!"

 **"You Need Proper Authorization…"** the Pokédex says.

"We don't have time for that!" the girl says loudly. "The trainer who owns you is unconscious and he and the Pokémon could die if I don't get help and you are the only way I could!"

A series of beeps is all it says for a moment. The girl just realizes how pointless it is to argue with a mindless computer that probably doesn't know or understand what is happening. She was just about to put it down, or throw it, when it spoke again; **"The Authorities Have Been Alerted To Our Location. Estimated Time To Their Arrival: One Minute And Thirty-Seven Seconds."**

"Oh, thank acreus," the girl says in relief. Pocketing the Pokédex in her pocket, she then went about checking everyone to see if they are alright, or at least alive. All she could hope for now is for them to last long enough for help to arrive.

* * *

 **AN: I do not know when I'll be able to write the next chapter. I have ideas for it, but I don't know what I'm going to do with Delia and if I should include her in the next chapter. In fact, I'm not sure what I'm going to do in between the major areas.**

 **The girl is Misty. If you don't like it then you can stop reading. I happen to be one of those who does like Misty though I will tune down her temper a bit and make her a bit more supportive. Also, Ash and Misty would share custody of Togepi. I just don't know how yet.**

 **I also don't know what the poached Pokemon, aside from the bird, are or how many there are. I do know they aren't normally from Kanto and would be considered rare and valuable. And should the growlithe be owned by Ash after this?**

 **And when should Misty know Ash isn't a human? I was thinking around the time Mewtwo Strikes Back but then I thought "what if she started figuring it out sooner?" I know my Brock would know something is up, but learning the secret is another thing.**

 **And what Pokemon should they get? They would still get their canon Pokemon, but where and when they do might change from the show.**

 **Please review and leave a suggestion. I may not use it but it'll help with the story. And while I like that so many people are following and favoring this story, I would still like some feedback. If grammar or spelling is bad, please let me know with ways to fix it.**

 **If you have questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them the best I can.**

 **Oh, one more thing, before I forget; I'm writing another Pokemon story. It's one of my original ideas and if I'm being honest, I'm more into that one than this one. Should I take time off of this story and focus on that one or continue with this story? I could do both but I'm getting ideas mixed up and need to focus on one yet I can't decide which one I should do...**

 **I'll see you soon... hopefully.**

 **EDIT: I had to change the Ash's name on the Pokedex. And I'll be starting a poll for this story.**

 **Update: The poll is now open! Has been for a while... Please click my profile to access it. The part below is for guest readers only!**

 **For all of you guest readers out there here's the poll;** **What should happen in Chapter Five of Sacred Illusions? I can't start it until I know. {Please choose no more than six}**

 **1\. Misty finds out the the pikachu and human she fished out are zoura, who are running away from their mom.**

 **2\. Misty doesn't find out they are zoura but does learn Ash is running away.**

 **3\. The Pokemon Center is attacked by thieves.**

 **4\. The Pokemon Center is NOT attacked by thieves.**

 **5\. Delia finds out her children are missing and leaves.**

 **6\. Delia DOESN'T know they are missing and stays home.**

 **7\. The growlithe pack joins Ash's team.**

 **8\. One member of the growlithe pack joins Ash's team.**

 **9\. Nurse Joy gives Ash a chancey to help with the deception.**

 **10\. We cut back to what Gary is doing.**

 **11\. Other; please leave a message on what it is you'd like to happen in the next chapter. [many chapters from now doesn't count.]**


	5. Important!

**This isn't an update but an important notice!**

 **I have no idea what I want to do next. So I have started a poll about 24 hours since I've last updated. However, only one person voted and that's because I told them to. Now, I don't want just one person's opinion, I want to know at least seven.**

 **I will give it a month before I close the poll and start writing. The reason is so I could focus on the other story and finish that one to a point I won't confuse the two stories. Which I am doing...**

 **So, let me hear your opinion on this and I'll start writing as soon as I could. I will update the previous chapter to include the poll for all the guest readers out there.**

 **Thank you and have a nice month, or so. See you whenever it's finished.**


	6. Important! Again!

**AN: Sorry about this but something has come to my attention that I need to address. The poll has surpass my goal of 7 voters in a few hours it has been known. However, I have kept it up to get more votes to see what everyone wants.**

 **Here is the result of the voting so far;** **Poll Result**

What should happen in Chapter Five of Sacred Illusions? I can't start it until I know.

1 Misty finds out the human and pikachu she fished out are actually zoura, who are running away from their mom.

15 17%

2 One member of the growlithe pack joins Ash's team.

14 16%

3 Nurse Joy gives Ash a chancey to help with the deception.

13 14%

4 The Pokemon Center is attacked by thieves.

11 12%

5 Delia finds out her children are missing and leaves.

10 11%

6 Delia DOESN'T know they are missing and stays home.

6 6%

7 Misty doesn't find out they are zoura but does learn Ash is running away.

5 5%

8 We cut back to what Gary is doing.

5 5%

9 The growlithe pack joins Ash's team.

4 4%

10 The Pokemon Center is NOT attacked by thieves.

3 3%

11 Other; please leave a message on what it is you'd like to happen in the next chapter. [many chapters from now doesn't count.]

1 1%

Unique Voters: 21

 **I had planned on keeping the poll up until the end of the month, or even a week after I opened it. However, someone has brought something to my attention that I feel I should share with you.**

 **BlackHeart303 has mention that it is too early for Misty to learn of Ash's and Rain[bow]'s secret and that I should wait until later in the story. After hearing this, I realize it** ** _is_** **too early for her to know, seeing as how I still have twenty-something episodes to go before Mewtwo Strikes Back.**

 **But as you can see, her learning is the most popular vote out of everything here. I don't want to disappoint you readers, but now knowing of this I can't really bring myself to even think write her discovery.**

 **My sister was reading over my shoulder as I wrote and has reminded me of an earlier plot device and has suggested Misty knows but never informed Ash and his starter that she knows. I am still unsure** ** _when_** **she knows, if it's even in the next chapter, but when she does, Ash and Rainbow wouldn't know she knows.**

 **The question still stands; is the next chapter too early for Delia and Misty to learn of the things they learn? We are still on day one, for crying out loud!**

 **I'm going to stop here, before I start ranting my frustrations out. Before I go, I'd like to hear your opinion on what Pokemon the poachers, and now Ash, caught and if Ash should keep them. They'll be revealed later in the story.**

 **The poll would stay open until Saturday. If you want to change your vote, please send me a Private Message. If you post a comment on chapters 5 and 6, it would say you have already left a comment even after I delete them unless you are a guest reviewer.**


	7. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer; I do not own Pokemon.**

 **Here is the results of the poll;**

 **Poll Result**

What should happen in Chapter Five of Sacred Illusions? I can't start it until I know.

1 Misty finds out the human and pikachu she fished out are actually zoura, who are running away from their mom.

20 18%

2 One member of the growlithe pack joins Ash's team.

17 16%

3 Nurse Joy gives Ash a chancey to help with the deception.

13 12%

4 Delia finds out her children are missing and leaves.

13 12%

5 The Pokemon Center is attacked by thieves.

11 10%

6 We cut back to what Gary is doing.

9 8%

7 Delia DOESN'T know they are missing and stays home.

7 6%

8 The Pokemon Center is NOT attacked by thieves.

6 5%

9 Misty doesn't find out they are zoura but does learn Ash is running away.

5 4%

10 The growlithe pack joins Ash's team.

4 3%

11 Other; please leave a message on what it is you'd like to happen in the next chapter. [many chapters from now doesn't count.]

1 0%

Unique Voters: 26

 **Now let's see how the chapter compares, shall we?**

 **Warning: This chapter is really,** ** _really_** **long. My sister has some advice; if don't have anywhere to go in an half-hour/hour, then read it. If you do, then wait. And this is for the fast readers. Also, I don't know how Law Enforcement and the like talks over the radio.**

* * *

 _"This is Station 98 of Viridian City Fire, Search and Rescue calling for medical back-up. There has been an electrical blast_ *static* _from Viridian City. The missing boy and growlithe pack has been found with_ *static* _but are_ *static* _. I repeat; they are unconscious. We need medical_ *static* _."_

 _"Station 98, you are breaking up. Please repeat what you have found."_

 _"The boy's pikachu seems to be the caused the electrical explosion_ *static* _"_

 _"Station 98 you are breaking up."_

 _"We need_ *static* _the injured are_ *static* _repeat; 30 spearow *static*a pika-_ *static* _two hu-_ *static* _and the missing_ *static* _…"_

 _"Station 98! Station 98, come in Station 98!"_

*Static*

 _"Station 98, come in!"_

*Static*

 _"Station 98, do you read me?"_

*Static*

 _"This is Station 96 of Viridian City Fire, Search and Rescue. We have reports of a high level of static electricity in the area that is affecting our equipment. All known attempts for contact in the area have resulted in failure. Permission to scout ahead. Over"_

 _"Station 96, permission granted. Medical teams are being sent to the area. Please try to stay in contact. Over."_

 _"10-4. Over and out."_

The radio went silent after that, leaving the only sound in the massive room is a cat's purr. The one who was listening to the radio has no authority over the matter but he likes to be prepared. He may not know the exact details as to what is going on, but he does know one thing…

"Well, my old friend?" a man in shadows asks. "What do you think?"

The cat has stopped purring and looks at him. To many it would seem as though the cat isn't aware of what its master is doing. However, they don't know the bond the two shares.

The cat tilts its head to the side, almost towards the door, before getting up and hiding. No words need to be said between them; the man knew exactly what his companion is implying. Without a word, the man in shadows presses a button on his desk.

"Tell the two employees they are needed in my office," the man says. The data of who he wants is sent out like a text message. "And send me updates on the captured poachers and the suspected thieves in the area."

"Yes sir, right away," a woman on the other end says. The line went dead as the man leans back into his chair, and turns to face the window.

The storm from earlier has quieted down, but it seems as though another one would be coming in later tonight or early tomorrow. For now there's a beginning of a beautiful sunset over the forest. The smoke from the fire is a bit troublesome, considering all of the wild Pokémon that lives there. He'll have to keep an eye on it, just to make sure the wild Pokémon don't come into town and attack.

A knock on his door brought the man out of his thinking. Without turning around to face the door, he calls out, "Come in." Shortly after, the door opens and two people walk in.

"You called for us?" one of the people, a woman asks politely. The man in the shadows doesn't say or do anything other than staring out of his window. The two people took their seats and waited for their boss to address them.

"What do you know about the thieves that have been threatening the city lately?" the shadowed man asks, still not looking at them.

"They have been targeting areas with either large amount of money or things of value," the other person, a man, says. "Police are stumped at who committed the crimes and why certain places have been attacked while others have not."

"The two main things that link the crimes is their use of Pokémon brute force and being quick," the woman added. "This usually results in major injuries, sometimes death, of witnesses and/or those who try to fight back, including law enforcements."

"And where do you suppose they'll strike next?" the shadowed man, their boss, asks, still not looking at them.

"The Pokémon Center," they both say at the same time. This time the man turns his head to them, well, as much as he could since he's still facing the window.

"Explain," he says skeptically. How did they get the idea the Pokémon Center would be attacked?

"There have been reports of poachers catching valuable Pokémon that has been taken by a trainer," the woman says. "Rumors are these valuable Pokémon are worth a fortune as well as severely injured. And since the Pokémon Center is most likely the least protected place, they would be in and out before the law enforcement can make it there."

"Not to mention the pattern of the thieves," the man added. "They only attack valuable areas that have the least amount of resistance and the least likely law enforcement can arrive in time to catch them."

Their boss says nothing. He's thinking about what they said and tries to think of other places the thieves might strike. Everything that came to mind, even his own company, pales in comparison to the Pokémon Center. He had to admit, to himself at least, it does seem to be the place they'll attack, given what changed to make it happen.

"Very well," he says, finally turning his chair around. "I'd like you two to grab your team and go there. If what you say is true, then the thieves would most likely attack tonight. When they do, _if they do,_ I want you to call in and stall them. Now go grab your Pokémon and head out."

"Yes sir," the two says, though he could tell they are nervous. They head out, leaving him to his thoughts.

His trusted Pokémon comes back in and purrs. Absentmindedly he starts petting his companion while looking back outside. The fiery sunset does nothing to calm his mind with what he has learned.

"Mrowl?" the cat purrs. The man looks at the cat to see something that most won't think of as important. However, he knew exactly what his friend is trying to say.

"No, my friend," he says. "He isn't ready for something like this."

"Meow?" the cat says while tilting his head to the side. "Meow."

"I know he's the most powerful resource we have," the man says with a sigh. "But he hasn't learned to control his powers just yet. As useful as he could be, he would most likely kill them and we may never know who they are working for or how big their group is for a long time."

This time the cat stays quiet. He now understands his master's hesitant to use their most powerful ally against the enemy. However, their ally would need a field test, just to see if he could control his powers under something like this.

Perhaps the media would be a great distraction. Don't need to alarm the citizens just yet.

* * *

"Alright then, that's the last of them," a man from the Fire, Search and Rescue team says as they put the last growlithe into its Pokéball. "Now, Ma'am, are you sure you have told us everything?"

"Yes sir," the redhead girl says with a nod. "After the signal went out, I went to check the Pokémon and got worried with their injuries so I used the boy's Pokéballs to catch them. I figured they'll last longer if they were in there."

"Alright, but why his?" the man asks as someone else takes the Pokéballs and the boy to the Pokémon Center, without the media noticing.

"I don't know, I panic and wasn't thinking," she says with worry and frustration lacing her voice. "Are they going to be alright?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine, thanks to you," the man says sincerely. "Let me give you a lift to the police station so you can give your statement. Then I'll take you to the Pokémon Center to see them, alright?"

"Alright," the girl sighs. She hopes it'll go by fast so she could see them. She needs to see they are alright.

*line break*

*line break*

 _"Viridian City is in turmoil as a series of violent robberies has left people and Pokémon alike injured or dead. Police are stumped as to who these bandits are and where they'll strike next. Residents are ordered to keep a look out for anything suspicious and to call police._

 _"In other news, the fire one Route One is still burning out of control. Dry conditions and high winds are making it hard for firefighters to control. While it isn't in danger of spreading to Pallet Town, residents are urged to be prepared for an evacuation should it get past the containment area._

 _"While the cause for the fire is unknown at this time, police have found poacher traps and an abandon vehicle near Pallet Town, a few miles from the fire. Rumors are the poacher set the fire to cover up their wrongdoings when it backed fired. The poachers are in custody and are being questioned._

 _"We'll keep our viewers updated on these events when the information becomes available. Here's a look at the weather."_

 _"The storm from this afternoon has past but another one is right on its heels. It is expected to arrive late tonight or early tomorrow. Travelers are advise to proceed with caution. If possible, wait out the storm in a nearby shelter."_

The car radio clicks off. The driver of the car looks over at his passenger. "Is everything alright, Young Oak?"

"Fine," Gary says as he looks around. The sun is setting and the woods they are driving through glow in the harsh light. "How much longer is it?"

"We'll be in Pewter City in an hour," his driver answers. He looks at his passenger and sees a worried expression on the young man. "I won't worry about the fire. Your grandfather would make sure Pallet Town is safe."

"That's not why I'm worried," Gary says quietly.

"It's not?" the driver asks, a bit surprise.

"Ash is walking," Gary says as he checks his Pokédex. "I just hope he wasn't there when the fire started. Of course, knowing him, he would have been trying to catch a Pokémon before arriving to Viridian City."

"Your rival's fine," the driver says. "He's smart enough to know to avoid getting caught in a fire. I'm sure he's over in Viridian City safe and sound."

"I guess," Gary says before looking out. He wasn't convinced Ash is fine. In fact, he's pretty sure Ash is lost on that route because of the fire. Then again, the Fire, Search and Rescue teams would be able to find him. The Pokédex is design for many things, not just scanning Pokémon.

But would Ash know that? Would he know how to use it? If he doesn't… no, Gary, he's fine so stop thinking he isn't.

"So what Pokémon are you planning to use?" his driver asks, bringing Gary out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh! Um…" Gary says as he thinks about it. "The gym leader uses rock type Pokémon, so caterpie, weedle, pidgey and spearow are out of the question. Rock types are known for their high defense against regular attacks, so rattata is out. Kanto rock types are also ground types so my nidorans are probably out. That leaves mankey and squirtle as the obvious choices."

"You really thought this out, haven't you?" his driver asks with amusement. "It's no wonder you were able to easily defeat that trainer back there."

"The trainer with the samurai sword? Please," Gary scoffs. "He might have been a bug master in training, with good talent, but he focused so much on his strongest Pokémon, he puts all his cards, so to speak, on winning with just that one. Besides, he knows a lot about bug types and this forest, but he doesn't understand the other types very well."

"How so?" the driver asks, not really understanding it. But then, Gary was always the more observant one in his class.

"I only used squirtle in a two-on-two battle," Gary points out. "His pinsir would have won had the trainer thought to use his Pokémon's moves a little better. But his second Pokémon is just a joke! It is not even worthy for a proper battle! Now if he had worked with it, the Pokémon wouldn't have been so worthless and could have defeated my squirtle!"

"Well, I think being the grandson of the famous Professor Oak has something to do with it," the driver says. With his eyes on the road, he didn't see Gary tensing up. "You know, your grandfather was an excellent trainer when he was your age. It's no surprise you're his grandson."

"Pull over," he says harshly. The driver did as Gary asks and pulled to the side of the road.

"Is something the matter?" he asks as Gary grabs his bag and hops out of the car.

"I'm going to walk the rest of the way and train my Pokémon," he says. As he turns around and starts walking off, he says, "I'll meet you in Pewter City when I'm done."

"But…" the driver says in protest. However, he wasn't able to say anything because Gary turns around at him so fast, he couldn't remember what it was he was trying to say.

"Look, I have all of the supplies I need to last for a week," Gary says with controlled anger. "Gym Leaders are much stronger than the average trainers and I really need to prepare for my match. If any of my fans have a problem with it, just tell them I'm doing what every trainer should do; train my Pokémon!"

Gary left without problems after that. His driver just looks at the retreating boy, wondering what has happen. However, after coming to the conclusion nothing is wrong and Gary has a point, the driver drives to car away, leaving Gary to face the woods alone as the day comes closer to night. Now all Gary has to do is set up camp before it gets too dark.

* * *

Sounds of machines beeping piercing through the unconscious is the first thing Ash notice. The noise sounds louder than it should and causing Ash's head to hurt. The smell of the sterile room is the next thing Ash notices.

Soon, Ash's eyes open before closing when the harsh light burns them. Being careful and opening them slowly, Ash's red eyes landed on a pink blob. With a moan, Ash asks, "What happen?"

"Aside from having both smoke and water in your lungs, burns from the fire AND the electrical blast, you tell me," a stern female voice says from out of Ash's sight. Ash whole body screams in protest with just one little movement. "You're lucky Pokémon can take a lot of damage and heal faster than humans. Otherwise you would still be unconscious."

Having just woken up, it takes a little longer than it should have to process the words. Once the words have been process, Ash jumps fully awake with an alarm yelp, "Pokémon!"

"Don't go jumping so soon, young lady," the stern voice scolds. A white and pink blob comes into view. "You might be a Pokémon, but you still took too much damage for your level."

 _"I'm going to be your nurse,"_ the pink blob says. _"If you are felling up to it, I'd like to examine you."_

"I, uh…" Ash says uncertainly. "The Pokémon? Rainbow?"

"Your brother is going to be fine," the white and pink blob says. "He has similar injuries as yours. He'll be out for the rest of the night, but his form is stable enough.

"As for the poached Pokémon… that's another story and one I'll tell you when you are well," she says firmly. "Now, how about we get you checked over?"

"I, uh," Ash says, still feeling uncertain. "Sure, I guess. What do you know about me?"

"If it'll keep you calm enough," the white and pink blob says calmly. "You are Ash Ketchum, one of the first Pokémon to legally be a Pokémon Trainer and sister to Rainbow Ketchum, your starter and fellow trainer."

"Rainbow's a Pokémon Trainer?" Ash interrupts in shock.

"He does have a license," the white and pink blob says while doing something. Holding something, she says, "Breathe into this.

"The two of you are quite young and haven't mastered you illusions, but in the ones you do know you are decent enough. While you are female and good enough being a human, you tend to lean onto being male. Is there a reason for this?" she asks as she does another test, hearing.

"Girls are afraid to get dirty while boys love adventures," Ash says as though it were obvious. The small vulpine ears twitched at the annoying sound. "I do like having my fur groomed, but if I had to take hours to look pretty just to lose it in a span of a few seconds I'd go mad."

"Far enough," the white and pink blob says. "You are license to be as either Ashton Ketchum or Ashley Ketchum. As Ashton Ketchum, you aren't allowed to use the Pokémon you have as Ashley Ketchum unless said otherwise. Can you look at the chart over there while I check your eyes?"

 _"Here are the results of the x-rays,"_ a chancey says from where the white and pink blob was when Ash awoken. All Ash could see is another pink blob holding something. The white and pink blob ignores it, her, for now and is instead focusing on Ash's eyes.

"Hmm, can I see those x-ray pictures?" the white and pink blob asks while moving away. Ash takes the time to look around the room. Everything is mostly a light color, but they are blurred into each other that Ash is having a difficult time identifying what's what. "Ash, can you look at the chart and tell me the letters on them?"

"What chart?" Ash asks automatically. There was no chart, as far as Ash is concerned.

"Alright then," the white and pink blob says as she moves around. "I want you to answer this next question honestly; what do you see me as?"

"A white and pink blob," Ash answers honestly but is also confused. "Why?"

"And how clear are your thoughts?" the white and pink blob asks as the pink blobs walk around.

"It's still a little foggy," Ash says, thinking hard. Suddenly Ash's eyes widen in realization. "Oh! I… I shouldn't be seeing blobs. You should be clear…"

"Don't worry about it," the white and pink blob says soothingly. "You have been through a lot. Once you are well, we'll talk about it. For now, try to get some sleep. The chancey will be available in case you need anything."

The white and pink blob leaves Ash alone to sleep. However, sleep wasn't coming and Ash got very bored. Luckily a pink blob, that is most likely a chancey, has come in.

"Can I make a phone call?" Ash asks.

 _"The only phones available are the ones in the lobby,"_ the pink blob answers. _"You would have to put on your disguise before heading out, and I don't know the damage you have in that form."_

"It'll be fine," Ash says before turning human. "I'm not planning on staying out for too long."

* * *

 _"The fire near Pallet Town has its citizens on edged as the firefighter struggle to contain it. Authorities are urging Pallet Town to voluntarily leave their homes for safety or be prepared for sudden evacuation. High Overnight winds are expected with a high chance of bringing embers of the fire towards the residential areas._

 _"Authorities are asking everyone in the area to avoid Route One until farther notice. Should travelers need to head either to or from Pallet Town then use the route closer to the sea on the other end of Pallet Town._

 _"The areas in immediate danger of the fire are the following; the housing district near the woods and Professor Oak's Laboratory and Pokémon Reserve. Firefighter are working hard to make sure these areas won't be affected by the fire._

 _"Stay tune for updates on the fire."_

"Alright everyone," Professor Oak says as he turns off the radio he was listening to. Holding up some papers, he went to address the concerns to the local Pokémon. "I know most of you are either wild or listen to only you trainers. However, with the threat of the fire, I think now would be the best time to work together to save your homes."

The Pokémon that have gathered all agree with him. Not only do they want to protect their homes, but they have heard what started the fire and want to get rid of it. A natural fire caused by storms, they'll mostly ignore; but a fire caused by poachers trying to harm their own kind is something they won't sit by and wait.

They also agreed that Professor Oak is in charged, even though he's a human and, to the trained Pokémon, not their trainers. Professor Oak assigned certain Pokémon to certain teams; water, rock and ground are fighting the fires, fire and ghost are search and rescue, flying and psychic are keeping the smoke and embers from coming in, grass, bug and poison are clearing the dry areas and the electric are keeping the power going just in case, to name a few.

"Remember to switch with those on the reserves once you start to feel tired. We don't have time to waste to replenish lost energy," Professor Oak warns. "Stay with your partners at all times, call out if you are in trouble…"

The phone ringing in the lab causes Professor Oak to stop talking. Seeing as how it was the phone he told Ash and Gary to call him on, he turned back to the gathered Pokémon, who are either wearing or handing out handkerchiefs with the words "Team Oak" on them. "Dragonite would be in charge while I am busy. Dragonite, you know what to do?"

When his dragonite gave a confirm growl, Professor Oak hands over the papers and heads inside to the phones. The power in the lab is low since the fire has cut the power off and he's trying to keep the generators going for as long as they can. All of his research has already been taken care of, but he wasn't ready to let the lab burn down without a fight.

"Pallet Town Pokémon Research Facility and Reserve, Professor Oak speaking," he says as he sat down and answers the video phone, without turning on the video call. The video would take up extra energy they don't have… and he didn't want the caller to see his current state; a tired old man who doesn't have the situation under control.

"Professor?" a familiar voice asks timidly. The electric Pokémon nearby sense his urgency to turn on the monitor and applied the power needed. It didn't take long for the screen to turn on and reveal a raven hair boy, looking terrible and a tad bit uncomfortable.

"Oh my, Ash? What happened?" a concern Professor Oak asks once he saw the state the boy is in. "Please don't tell me you were in the middle of the fire."

"Wrong camera, Professor," Ash says. Professor Oak looks around, wondering just what the young kit is saying. Right behind him, one of the cameras is on.

"Whoops," Professor Oaks says as he starts typing on the keyboards. It doesn't take long before the camera angle changes to the right one. "Sorry about that. Now answer me; what happened to you and where's your brother?"

"He's, uh…" Ash hesitates, causing Professor Oak to be concern. Ash's illusions flickers a bit between being male and female despite the charms Ash has on. "Don't tell my mom."

"Ash, tell me everything that has happen. Please," Professor Oak says gently. He can't promise anything involving Ash's and Rainbow's mother, but he'll do what he could.

Ash notices he didn't promise, but knew the professor deserves to know what happened. Truth is, their mother should know, but with how protective she is, Ash doesn't want her to know and over react, preventing Ash from leaving home ever again. So, with the illusion settling on male, Ash told Professor Oak the story.

"So let me see if I got this," Professor Oak says once the story is done. "You went to catch a Pokémon while Rain rests. Then a spearow tells you he found Pokémon trapped in cages and after talking about your options, you caught them."

"Yes sir," Ash says, feeling nervous. Professor Oak is someone she looks up to. She doesn't want to disappoint him.

"As the two of you were about to leave, the poachers came back," Professor Oka says while rubbing his head. Already he could see where Ash and Rainbow went wrong. "And while the two of you were really quiet, the poachers had growlithe who then tracked you two down, start a fire to slow you down and chased you to a cliff where you jumped off."

"That is correct," Ash says, shaking slightly. Professor Oak can't tell if Ash is cold, just realized how close to death the two were or if there is something wrong. However, the nurse Pokémon is right there making sure Ash is fine.

"You don't remember anything after hitting the water, do you?" Professor Oak asks, though it almost sounds like a statement. "Not how you got out, or how you ended up in the hospital?"

"Well, not really," Ash says thinking. "I remember it was dark and wet, with flashes of lightning. I remember a rainbow and a golden bird flying through it. And there was a girl talking to me, but I don't remember what she said, or what she looked like. I don't even remember what the Pokémon I caught looked like, except hurt really bad."

"I'll look into it," Professor Oak promises. He looks at the electric Pokémon to see them switching out. He really needs to get off soon.

"Hey Professor?" Ash asks, causing Professor Oak to look back. "Why does Rainbow have a trainer license?"

"Well," Professor Oak says, slightly taken back by the question. "He did take the classes, and past the tests. I could issue another Pokédex for him with you as his starter, if you'd like."

"I'll talk to him," Ash says. Professor Oak didn't miss the sparkle in her eyes with the thought of Rainbow and her switching places. "How's our mother?"

"Delia is frightened right now," Professor Oak answers honestly. "She has no idea where the two of you are and with the fire being so close… It's very hard to keep her from realizing the two of you left."

"Can you try to keep her from coming until tomorrow?" Ash asks a bit frightened. "We need to rest the night, or else we would be far from here."

"I make no promises, Ash," Professor Oak says. "Your mother, despite how she's raising the two of you, is a very smart woman. Once she figures out you left, she'll stop at nothing until you two are home and safe."

"Hey mister!" an angry voice calls out. A red-head girl comes up with a charred bike over her shoulders. "You own me a new bike and two special lures!"

"Get some rest, Ash," Professor Oak says with a smile. "You'll need it if you want to avoid your mother."

He turns off the phone right then. The electric Pokémon couldn't keep it up much longer. He thought back to Ash's story. He has hoped Ash and Rainbow wouldn't have faced poachers until that day, but fate seems to have other plans. He could only hope they'll be able to rise to the occasion, like he believes they could.

"Alright, Team," Professor Oak says to the Pokémon gathered around. "Let's show that fire what happens when Pokémon come together for a single cause!"

The Pokémon cheers before heading outside. The ones whose job is to heal the injured went to their place and start to get the exhausted Pokémon the energy they need. The fighting types are carrying the heavy stuff and exhausted Pokémon away.

Fires can move fast if they aren't careful. Professor Oak hopes no one would get caught in the fire. He's ready to leave at a moment's notice and is making sure the other Pokémon are as well. Besides, buildings can be replaced and research can be redone but life cannot.

* * *

"That Officer Jenny needs to learn some manners," a woman with long purple-red hair says as she looks at the tread marks the motorbike left. "What if the Pokémon Center wasn't as empty as it is? She could have hurt someone!"

"Not to mention how hard it would be to get rid of it," a man with short blue hair agrees. "I can only imagine the cleaning bill it would bring up."

"Enough about that," the woman says. "We need to think about when the attack is going to happen."

"It would probably be a little later," the man says, looking at a small computer screen. "They need to make sure there are no officers in the area. I have already alerted our boss on the possibility of distractions to lure officers away."

"Hey, look at dat," a meowth says with broken speech. "Dat boy ain't no human."

"What makes you say that?" the woman asks while looking at the boy. "He looks normal to me."

"Dat's because you ain't looking at him," the meowth says. "He flickers in da light."

"That is odd," the man says, looking over at the boy. "Perhaps he's one of those new trainers types; Pokémon as Pokémon Trainers."

"Could be," the woman says. "If that's the case, perhaps we should keep an eye on him and see what he does."

At that moment, Nurse Joy comes out pushing a stretcher with a pikachu on it. The boy runs over to check the Pokémon. Nurse Joy seems to be scolding the boy, but the three are too far to hear what is being said. Suddenly an alarm sounds, causing everyone to jump.

 _"ATTENTION CITIZENS! THIEVES HAVE BEEN SPOTTED IN THE CITY! YOU ARE URGE TO STAY INDOORS AND IF CONFRONTED, DO NOT ATTACK! CALL FOR HELP AND WAIT FOR THEM TO COME! I REPEATE; IF CONFRONTED BY THESE THEIVES, DO NOT ATTACK, CALL FOR HELP AND WAIT!"_

"It looks like they are starting the attacks," the man says as he looks on his small computer screen. It shows different dots moving around. The red dots are the places under attack, the blue dots are the officers, the green dot is them and the yellow dots are members of the local gym. Some of the yellow dots are going to these places to assist the officers, just as their boss wants.

"So, when do you think they'll attack us?" the woman asks, getting her Pokéballs ready.

Just then, the glass roof broke and ropes fall in. People slide down the ropes as the man, the woman, their meowth, the kids and Nurse Joy moves behind the counter. An imitating man lands and starts walking slowly towards them.

"I'm going to say, 'Now'," the man whispers quietly where only the ones around him would hear him. The woman slaps the back of his head but left it at that. Soon the man is right up at them.

"Good evening, Ma'am," he says to Nurse Joy. "I was hoping you could help us with something."

"It depends what it is you want," she says, keeping her ground. "And I do hope you'll pay for breaking the roof."

"I don't think you understand what's happening," he says with a chuckle that put shivers down their spines. "We're here to get some Pokémon from you. The ones that were poached earlier today…"

"Are not yours!" she says, standing tall. "This is a place of healing so unless you have Pokémon that needs healing, I suggest leaving!"

The thieves laughed as though they just heard a good joke. The blue hair man readies his Pokéball, knowing they wouldn't have much time. Soon the thieves stop laughing and the intimidating man, who they suspect is the leader, looks right at Nurse Joy and says, "You have some nerve, Lady, talking to me like that." The man gives a signal to his team that the group could only suspect means "attack them" and his men do just that.

"Cover us!" the blue hair man says as he opens the Pokéball. Poisonous gas comes spewing out as the man and woman pushes the others saying, "Move, move, move!" They were out of harm's way and the toxic fumes. The leader was too close to them but luckily he didn't grab them in time.

* * *

The red-head girl is not having a good day. The fishes weren't biting, a fire broke out, a boy and pikachu were fished out, growlithe chased them, a storm moved in, the pikachu uses the storm to power up its electrical attack, all of those injured Pokémon, her bike got fired, the interrogations, the ride from hell and now this! It makes her wonder what she done to deserve this.

That man had tried to grab Nurse Joy when the toxic smoke started coming out. However, she still had her bike and threw it at him to make sure he didn't follow. Seeing him get thrown back helped fight down the fear she was feeling.

"Where are we going?" she asks as she guides the boy, who can't see very well for some reason, and who is pushing the bed his pikachu is resting on. They had passed the rooms for injured Pokémon and she was surprised to not see any Pokémon in there. "And where are the Pokémon?"

"I pressed an emergency button telling all of the nurses to gather the Pokémon and evacuate them," Nurse Joy answers. "I also pressed an alarm for the police station. Help should be on its way."

"Don't bet on it," the blue hair man who sent out the toxic fumes says as he looks on a small computer screen. "Police are spread pretty thin already with all of the other break-ins that have occurred. If we're lucky, the closest ones would not be busy and would arrive in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes!" the girl says in alarm. "But that'll be too late! There has to be someone closer!"

"It'll have to do," Nurse Joy says as they reach the basement. "In here, quick!"

The group heads inside with a koffing bringing up the rear. Once inside, Nurse Joy closes the door and locks it. Then a heavy metal door slams down, trapping them inside. Once that is done, Nurse Joy turns on the lights and heads towards a corner that has a videophone and teleporter.

"This is a safe room design for something like this," Nurse Joy says. "All of the Pokémon are brought down here for transport."

"What about the Pokémon I got?" the boy asks. "Where are they?"

"They are in Pokéballs ready for transport," Nurse Joy answers while turning it on. "The more severe ones are in healballs. Every little bit to help heal is welcome.

"This is Viridian City Pokémon Center calling all available centers, please come in," she says into the videophone. "We are under attack and in need of help. Please respond."

"This is Pewter City Pokémon Center responding," another Nurse Joy says on the phone. "We are ready to assist in any way we can."

"This is Cerulean City Pokémon Center responding," another, yet familiar Nurse Joy says. "We are also ready to assist in any way we can."

"This is Vermillion City Pokémon Center responding," another Nurse Joy says as she joins in.

"This is Saffron City Pokémon Center responding," another Nurse Joy says as the screen starts to get crowded.

"This is Lavender Town Pokémon Center responding," another Nurse Joy joins in.

"This is Fuchsia City Pokémon Center responding," and another one joins.

"This is Cinnabar Island Pokémon Center responding," and another one says.

"This is Celadon City Pokémon Center responding," says another one.

"This is the Pokémon League Pokémon Center responding," says another one. This one smiles and says, "Looks like you got the Kanto clan together. Let's not do this again."

"I don't plan on it," Viridian City Nurse Joy says. "I'll send over the Pokémon. There isn't much you could do otherwise."

"How bad is it?" the Nurse Joy from Celadon asks.

"I'll start the transfer now and split it among you," she says, ignoring the question. The machine came to life and starts putting Pokéballs on the conveyer belt.

Suddenly a Pokéball pops open. A growlithe comes out and starts barking. It flinches when other balls pop open, revealing to be the growlithe pack that attack them! The leader glares at the first growlithe, who back down, before barking at the boy.

"Nurse Joy?" the boy calls out to the nurse. Motioning to the pack he says, "I think they want to help buy time."

"Alright," Nurse Joy says as she looks them over. "But once it becomes too much, you are going back into your balls and being transported to another Pokémon Center. Do I make myself clear?"

The growlithe pack bark in agreement. Nurse Joy takes their Pokéballs off the shelves then went back to the teleporter. It was working quiet well, until the power suddenly went out.

"What happen?" the girl asks while trying to look around. All she could see is darkness. "What's going on?"

"They must have cut off the power," she hears Nurse Joy says calmly. "Luckily we have a pika-power back-up."

Chanting of pikachu can be heard from somewhere nearby. Little flashes on light are seen before a steady stream of electricity take sits place. Soon enough the power went back on and Nurse Joy made sure things are running smoothly.

"Aw, what cute little pikachu," the girl says as she sees tiny pikachu running on a conveyer belt while releasing electricity. "I want one."

"These pikachu are trained especially for this situation," Nurse Joy says without looking back.

"Are dey trained to fightin'?" the meowth asks, shocking everyone but the two people. Oddly enough, the growlithe are growling at the door where the meowth is looking. Pokéballs began opening up, revealing the spearow flock from earlier.

"No, not really," Nurse Joy says carefully. The growlithe pack and the spearow flock seem to be talking before coming to a truce. "Why?"

"Cause der comin' tru," the meowth growls while getting defencive. The woman released her Pokémon, an ekans, while the koffing got into position. Soon enough, the door gave way.

"Ash!" Nurse Joy calls out. The boy picks up his pikachu and got to her side quickly. The two talked about something while the girl readies her Pokémon. She double checks the Pokéballs to make sure she has the right ones.

"No more games," the imitating man says as he came in. "Hand over those Pokémon or there will be trouble."

"You're not getting those Pokémon without a fight!" the girl says as she sends out her Pokémon; a goldeen. The thieves laugh at this. She could hear the boy, Ash, say "stupid humans" under his breath. Turning her head slightly, she could semi-see him right next to her. 'Did he just flicker?'

"Such brave words for a stupid girl," the man says. "Alright men, show these pathetic people why they should have just surrendered when they had a chance."

"Ash, get out of here," the girl says. Ash looks at her, wanting to protest but the girl shakes her head. "You and your pikachu need to get out. We'll be fine."

Ash huffed but his pikachu talked him into going. Luckily the Pokémon are causing a great distraction so he could slip by easily. Just as he was out the door, with the little pikachu following, the healballs started opening up, one of them in a magical fire.

* * *

 _"Okay, sis, what's the plan?"_ Rainbow asks once they were out of hearing. _"Aside you didn't want to get into a Pokéball and sent to somewhere safe."_

"There's no way I'm ever going to trust a human," Ash snarls.

 _"Should have thought about that when you wanted to leave,"_ Rainbow says with a shrug.

 _"Can we help?"_ one of the little pikachu asks. _"Since you are stable in a pikachu form, we may be able to overcharge your electricity."_

 _"Would that even work on a zoura?"_ another little pikachu asks. _"Technically he isn't a pikachu."_

 _"He has a solid illusion!"_ the first one argues. _"A solid illusion is almost as good as transform!"_

 _"Yeah, 'Almost' being the key word here,"_ another pikachu says before looking up. _"Turn left."_

The group turns left and found themselves in a dead end room. An empty patient's room if you want to be technical. However, they went quiet and hid in the shadows of the room. Good thing to as some of the thieves ran by.

 _"Okay, ideas?"_ Ash asks in the pikachu dialect as a whisper. She could hear them whispering among each other but could make it out. _"Rainbow?"_

 _"Don't take this the wrong way, Ash,"_ her brother says softly. _"But how good is your sight?"_

 _"Not good,"_ she admits. _"I only made it where we are through smell and hearing alone. Why?"_

 _"I'll get back to you on that,"_ Rainbow says before he starts whispering with the small pikachu. It takes only a few seconds before he turns back to her. _"Okay, we'll be your eyes. What we need is something to help charge me up."_

 _"Why?"_ Ash asks. So far she doesn't like where this is going.

 _"We need to stun the thieves,"_ he says. _"Neither of us alone can do it and stay charged."_

 _"So you need me to find something to keep you all charged?"_ Ash asks, trying to get it.

 _"No,"_ Rainbow corrects, _"just me."_

 _"Not happening!"_ Ash says before standing up and leaving the room. She stops long enough for the pikachu and her brother to catch up. _"If you want me to find something so you can fight, these little ones are fighting with you."_

 _"Duck,"_ a little pikachu says quietly and urgently. Ash not only went lower but she found what she thinks is a small wall to hide behind. Footsteps fall close by but never stopped before they fade away from where they had been.

 _"Everything has been trashed,"_ a pikachu says sadly.

 _"Do you smell that?"_ one of the small pikachu asks in disgust. The other pikachu put their noses in the air and sniff. Almost immediately they all cringe in disgust.

 _"Ugh, it smells like burnt rubber,"_ one pikachu says with its paws right up against its nose.

'Burnt rubber? Where had I smelled it before?' Ash thought to herself. She thought back to the room when she was escaping; the leader had that smell on him, so did the girl who yelled at her. She thought back farther, to just before they were attacked. "That's it!"

 _"What's it?"_ the others asks, looking at her. They fell into formation as she tries to get by the small wall. And they help her not to cut herself on any sharp objects.

 _"Burnt rubber! It's the girl's bike!"_ she says quietly. She tries to move around carefully but her senses are confusing her. She couldn't understand them when they are whispering to each other but now wasn't the time to argue. _"Just help me find it."_

 _"Is this it?"_ a pikachu timidly asks before crying in delight. _"Hey, it has a light!"_

 _"Quiet!"_ one of the pikachu whispers harshly. _"You don't want to alert them to use."_

 _"Just help me out with this,"_ Ash whines. She's getting really tired of all of this. Or was she just tired in general? She doesn't know and doesn't care to.

It doesn't take long before everything was set up. Rainbow is sitting on the light while Ash pedals to create the electricity. The little pikachu gather around linking up, causing a close circuit. One of the little pikachu had left before coming back with a headband/lightbulb combo and placed it on Rainbow's head. Just as Ash was about to start pedaling, the air around them became… heavy.

 _'Are you in need of assistance?'_ a powerful voice asks. Ash and Rainbow can't tell if the voice is in their head or if it was spoken out loud. Something wearing some weird armor stood nearby. However, because it is so dark they couldn't make it out better than that. There is one thing they both know…

"Can you please tune down your powers?" Ash asks while clenching her teeth. "It hurts."

 _"No offence,"_ Rainbow adds. _"It's just overwhelming."_

 _"And that's saying something coming from them!"_ one of the pikachu says, though it doesn't understand why they felt overwhelmed.

 _'I see,'_ the creature says while pulling in his powers the best he could. _"I apologize."_ His dialect is pretty unique, and something Ash and Rainbow notice how similar it is to another Pokémon they know of.

"Are you related to Mew?" Ash asks. "Your dialect sounds very similar."

 _"In a sense, yes; I am mew's clone,"_ the creature says. The energy he gives off implies he just realize something. _"I do not know why I am telling you this."_

 _"Can we talk after the bad guys are gone?"_ a pikachu asks.

"Good idea," Ash says. "Hey mew clone."

 _"Mewtwo,"_ the mew clone says, correcting Ash.

"Mewtwo, how good are you with your psychic powers?" Ash asks while thinking. Of course, only Rainbow knows she's thinking about something. While he doesn't know what she's thinking, he knows it'll probably be good… or so crazy someone would wonder how it worked.

 _"Whenever I use my psychic powers, I release a strong residue that affects everyone around me, including dark types as you know,"_ he explains while motioning to Ash and Rainbow. _"Why do you ask?"_

"Can you teleport the injured Pokémon to the other Pokémon Centers waiting to treat them?" Ash asks while starting to pedal. "These thieves are pretty terrible and the Pokémon need treatment as soon as possible."

 _"Plus it would make the thieves lose their goal and cause them to attack whoever is left,"_ Mewtwo says, thinking it over.

"Unless we also take away the humans," Ash says while pedaling faster. The light on Rainbow's head glows brightly, but not stable, and the electrical current started flowing somewhat steadily.

 _"Very well, I'll do as I can,"_ Mewtwo says. _"However, should the ones in question refuse to leave; I cannot force them out without damaging them farther."_

"That's fine. Just bring them here," Ash says. She wasn't really thinking about it. Everyone is in danger; this is a way to get them to safety. Besides, who'd be stupid enough NOT to get to safety?

* * *

The psychic ability is a very complicated subject to understand. Understanding and opening one's mind is very difficult. For those born with the ability, learning to focus and to keep a clear mind is the main difficulty they have to learn.

A child's mind could easily adapt to changes so long as the changes are subtle or low enough. If there is too much of a change, the child may never recover and would either be a threat to everyone around them or be alive but not. Such a thing is hard to see happening, and yet it does.

For Pokémon, their minds are already able to adapt, though some more so than others. It is in their nature, their very coding for survival. Those born with the powers grow into them and thus can harness them with little effort and effect on both their minds and their victims.

Mewtwo never had this. Being created in a lab, his mind matured while unconscious and thus he hasn't learned to control his powers when a little bit angry or frustrated or the like. Truth be told, he never really cared.

Not until he met these Pokémon. They are so young, so innocent and so caring. And while they don't care much for humans, they aren't going to leave them there to die. It reminds him of a forgotten dream he once had.

While the memory of the hurt is powerful and hasn't faded away in time, the love he felt was much more subtle, much more precious. It was that feeling he has now that makes him more conscious of his powers and his lack of control over them.

So, doing something he has never even thought of before, Mewtwo pulled his powers in and focuses of the individual subconscious minds of the Nurse Joys. Leaving the message was easy enough, though the one is Saffron City was a bit of trouble. Not because the Nurse Joy there was trouble, just the local psychic making sure he isn't a threat.

With that done, he went into the subconscious of the Pokémon and is surprise to find out some of the injured Pokémon fighting the enemy. He did a quick debate about leaving the fight to get healed. Some of the Pokémon don't trust humans and he had to plant a thought; nurses are to heal, not hurt.

The ones who can't fight any longer allows him to teleport them to safety. The ones who aren't badly injured and can still fight refuse to leave. All in all, they understand and don't mind it.

But one of them, the mind is a bit like his but not quite. It, she, is too hurt to keep fighting but something was driving her to, a sort of instincts. With the injuries she has, with how hard she fought and how broken her body is, he wasn't sure if she'll ever recover, let alone make it through the night.

He couldn't take her away, she's too weak and he isn't ready for that. Nor was he ready to take something so fragile and young. He isn't sure what it is, but he knows he should just leave it alone.

Aside from the half a dozen Pokémon, give or take a few, weren't leaving until all life have been evacuated. This poses a problem since he couldn't take those two Pokémon out. He made sure the half a dozen or so Pokémon wouldn't mind relocating and is silently grateful they agree.

Convincing the humans was a tad harder. The man and woman with the poison types and a meowth can't leave without disobeying orders. Nurse Joy wasn't going to abandon the center until everyone else left. And he almost didn't notice the girl if she hadn't contacted him.

It was interesting. Her Pokémon had taught her how to sense and communicate to someone with psychic abilities, though she doesn't have it herself as far as he knew. She seems to want to know about the boy and his pikachu, and he wasn't able to hide the fact of what they are doing. Her anger is something he doesn't want to face in person as she practically demanded him to take her to the boy.

Mewtwo made sure everything is in order before he teleport everyone to where they needed to be. However, once he did he realized one big mistake; the thieves have a psychic who read everything and alerted the team. They are on their way and they aren't happy.

He also learned they thieves had hooked up an illegal teleportation device that steals the Pokémon being transported to the other Pokémon Centers. Luckily he found the Pokémon they stole and teleport them to the other Pokémon Centers.

For those around him it only a few seconds for him to do everything. Thoughts in the subconscious moves rather fast compared to the outside. He didn't really have time to feel satisfied with what he'd done as something from outside his thoughts cut through them.

* * *

Ash felt like she couldn't breathe. Her lungs hurt so much and she couldn't get the air in. It made her stop pedaling just to try to catch her breath. However, that break causes the electrical current the pikachu and Rainbow had going. She was trying so hard to calm the fire in her chest she didn't notice when they got company.

"What do you think you are doing?" a familiar voice asks angrily. It had almost caused Ash to jump off the bike. Ash looks to where the voce came from and saw the girl right next to them. The man, woman, Nurse Joy and some Pokémon were standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asks alarmed. "You were *cough* you were supposed to get out and be safe!"

"Sorry about that," the man says, though it doesn't sound like he's sorry. "But our boss ordered us to stay here."

"This is my center," Nurse Joy says. "I'm not allowed to leave until everyone is evacuated, including you."

"Like I was going to leave you here alone!" the girl says, still fuming. "Now answer my question!"

"We're trying to stun them," Ash says. "I *cough* I was trying to keep *cough cough* keep them charged up *cough cough*."

"Okay, one; your lungs haven't recovered from the smoke and water damage yet," Nurse Joy says firmly, "and second; these pikachu aren't trained for battle, they're trained for blackouts! They can't generate electricity without moving."

"That explains things," the woman says.

"But *cough cough* they… I… *cough cough cough*," Ash says trying to defend their actions but ends up in a coughing fit. The pikachu and Rainbow looks alarmed now, and sounds of the thieves getting closer echoes down the halls.

"Get off," the girl demands.

"What? *cough cough*," Ash asks, confused and feeling a bit light headed with all of the coughing she's doing.

"Get off the bike before you pass out," she says while pulling Ash off herself. Ash wasn't exactly strong enough to fight her and therefore allowed her to do it. Then, to the surprise of everyone, she hops on. "They just need a steady stream of electricity, right?"

"What…" Nurse Joy asks but the noises down the hall distracted her. It's not long before the thieves find them and everyone knew this.

"Every little bit helps," the girl says. "Goldeen, get ready."

"You too, Ekans," the woman says.

"Koffing, Meowth," the man says, though he doesn't elaborate.

The Pokémon, which consists of a golden hovering above the floor, a spearow, a timid growlithe, an ekans, a koffing and a meowth got into positions. The remaining chancey also got ready for battle, but more to heal than to fight. Finally, the girl pulls out two Pokéballs and threw them. What they reveal is a staryu and a starmie.

"No more "Mr. Nice Guy"," the lead thief says in a way he means death. At the same time more thieves comes in through teleport. The leader glares at them and says, "This time, this time I'm not holding back!"

The thieves sent out their Pokémon, most of them the group couldn't recognize. The one thing they all have in common; they look intimidating. And there are so many of them, a lot more than the defenders of the center, let alone what they were dealing with earlier.

"Every little bit helps," the girl repeats as she starts pedaling, pulling them out of their fear induced shock. A steady flow of electricity flow though the pikachu faster and better than when Ash had done it. The light on Rain's head glows bright enough to light the room and is stable.

The two sides stare at each other, one side growling threateningly and ready to rip their opponents to shreds while the other side is glaring right back and ready to defend. Neither side wants to strike first. All it took is one word from the boss thief for everything to go into chaos; "ATTACK!"

* * *

"What do you mean 'they just vanish'?" Officer Jenny asks over her radio. "Thieves don't just vanish into thin air in the middle of a fight without the goods!"

 _"That's what all of the units are reporting,"_ a voice on her radio informs.

"But it doesn't make sense!" Officer Jenny says. "Thieves don't just leave if they believe they had the upper hand, which is what we did! And they shouldn't have disappeared without a trace; we had the help from the gym to make sure they couldn't escape!"

"Officer!" a male voice calls out, one that Officer Jenny recognize.

"Hold up, the Gym Leader wants to talk to me," Officer Jenny says before giving all of her attention to the man by putting her radio down. "Giovanni, I'd like to thank you for the help you have given us, despite the unexpected problems."

"That's what I want to talk to you about," he says in, a very rare, concern tone. "There are two members of my team I haven't heard from yet, and I can't contact them for some reason."

"Where were they station at? I could probably get one of my units to confirm their location," Officer Jenny suggests as she reaches for her radio.

"They were following a hunch they had on the next target and aren't at any of the known targets," he states. Officer Jenny looks up at him and motions him to continue. "They believed these are distractions to throw you off their true target."

"And what is their supposed true target?" officer Jenny asks, though she isn't thrilled about the idea one bit. Because if it is true then the thieves either got what they came for, or worse, they had some unexpected resistance and had called for backup. Either way, they may be too late to save anyone.

"The Pokémon Center," he says.

"I'm sorry, why the Pokémon Center?" Officer Jenny asks. "There isn't anything of… value…" She looks at the gym leader with relation dawning on her face. "They are after the poached Pokémon?"

"I'm not sure, but it looks that way," he says. "I have already sent my strongest Pokémon to assist, but I don't know why he hasn't contacted me yet."

"Get on," she says as she readies her bike. As the gym leader gets seated in the passenger car, Officer Jenny picks up her radio and calls in; "This is Officer Jenny with probable information on the whereabouts of the thieves and/or what they are after."

 _"Go ahead, Officer Jenny,"_ the dispatcher says.

"Gym Leader, Giovanni, informed me of his two missing members and believes the thieves only attack these places to distract us from their true target; the Pokémon Center, where the two members are stationed," she says as she turns her bike on. "He and I are on route and would check out the situation. I am requesting backup to all available units as a precaution."

 _"Time of arrival?"_ the dispatcher asks. Officer Jenny turns on her sirens.

"Estimated Time of Arrival; three minutes," she says as her bike roars down the street.

 _"All units, head towards the Pokémon Center for a possible attack,"_ the dispatcher says before Officer Jenny turns the volume down.

"Are you armed?" she asks while keeping her eyes on the road. Her passenger just holds onto the sidecar as she swerves out of someone's way.

"I have my best Pokémon on me," he says as he recovers from the sudden move. Praying they wouldn't hit anything, he adds, "They are the ones I trust in a situation like this."

There was something with how he says it that makes Officer Jenny question something. "But not your most powerful Pokémon?"

"He might be powerful, but he doesn't have control on his powers," the man says. "I had thought he would just take in the situation and report back to me…"

"But he didn't," she finishes for him. She steers out of the way of a car that ignored her sirens and ends up flying off a ramp. "This doesn't really lessen my nerves on this situation."

"My apologies," he says, though it sounds like he's still trying to recover from the unexpected flight. "But it is what it is."

"Is this Pokémon dangerous?" she asks as she takes a sharp turn down an alleyway to avoid traffic. "What kind of Pokémon is he?"

"Under normal circumstances, that information is classified," he says as though he rehearsed it, well, at least a part of it. "However, this isn't normal circumstances. Are you familiar with the concepts of clones?"

"Pokémon genetically altered to be more powerful than their natural counterpart, or reviving fossilized Pokémon?" she asks before turning the bike back into a street. She does have a feeling where this is going and she didn't like it.

"The first one," he says simply. "When he was… awaken," he hesitates, trying to find the right word, "from the cloning chamber, he lost control of his powers and blew up the lab he was in."

"What!" she cries in alarm… and nearly lost control of her bike. "What kind of Pokémon is he?! And how could you trust him if he did that?!"

"I design a suit to help with controlling his powers," he says while making sure he still had his Pokémon. "I have been working with him since and have seen the difference in his control."

"That doesn't tell me what he is," she says while reaching for her radio. "I'm going to have to call it in, just in case it gets out of hand."

"I thought as much," he sighs. "Are you familiar with my mother's obsession with a specific Pokémon and some of her more… inhumane experiments?"

"Yes, but what does it have to do…?" she says before realizing something. "You Have A Mew Clone!?"

"When I inherited my mother's company, it was one of the things I found out about and took control of," he says before grabbing the sidecar tightly as the bike swerve out of the way of a freight truck.

"So how dangerous is he, then?" She asks while getting ready to call in this information.

"Not as dangerous as you're driving," he says harshly as they swerve once again out of someone's way. Officer Jenny looks a little upset at that but wisely says nothing.

"This is Officer Jenny calling headquarters," she says once she was sure it is safe to talk on her radio. "I have disturbing information regarding Giovanni's Pokémon; a Pokémon he has sent to observe the situation but, like his two members, hasn't report back."

 _"We are listening,"_ the dispatcher says after a moment of silence. Giovanni does nothing to stop her from sharing this information.

"The Pokémon in question is a genetically alter super clone from the Pokémon Mew," she says. "It has a history of not controlling his powers, but has since been trained by Giovanni for better control. I have been informed that he is less of a threat than my driving."

 _"Thank Acreus for small miracles,"_ another voice says over the radio.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Officer Jenny says sarcastically.

 _"Officer Clyde, please report,"_ the dispatcher says.

 _"Officers Clyde and Bonney are on route to the Pokémon Center and will arrive in two minutes,"_ the other voice says.

 _"Officer Jenny, what's your status?"_ dispatcher asks.

"We are approaching the road that would take us straight to the center," She says as she turns her bike sharply onto said road. "We'll be there in less than a minute."

"Yes, and hopefully the Pokémon Center would be in one piece," Giovanni says as the center came into view.

Suddenly the Pokémon Center did just that; blew up. The shockwave from the explosion caused the bike to fly into the air and back a few feet, and windows from the nearby buildings to shatter. Luckily both driver and passenger only receive minor injuries. The bike was less fortunate.

"This is Officer Jenny requesting medical assistance," she says as she looks over to her passenger with a glare that says 'See what you had done' and 'you shouldn't have jinxed it'. "The Pokémon Center just blew up."

"This is Giovanni calling all available Viridian Gym members," he says as he looks around. "You are needed to help with the panicking citizens at the surrounding area around the Pokémon Center."

 _"All units please respond to an explosion at the Pokémon Center,"_ dispatcher says through the radio. _"Please proceed with caution."_

* * *

 _"As the Route One fire rages on, authorities are asking residents to…"_ the radio clicks off before it was finished. Delia sighs as she finishes dinner and set up the table. While she hadn't seen her kits since that morning, she knows they wouldn't have ventured off into the unknown.

They aren't prepared for such a feat. The bed times stories she tells them of humans being cruel to Pokémon, disrespectful towards nature, and the dangers of the world outside even in a seemingly peaceful environment. The world is a cruel place. She made sure they understand that and wouldn't go off alone; without her.

And she won't let them leave. She knows their father would want them to be safe and protected. No matter what anyone else says, they are her children and she would kill everyone who tries to take them from her.

Shaking these thoughts from her mind, Delia reaches to her special whistle and towards the open window she lets its notes sing. She uses this to call her children back when it's time for dinner, or when she wants them back. It's perfect because only certain Pokémon can hear it so no one would notice the oddity.

Knowing she has a few minutes before they come back, Delia went around the house to tidy it up and finish what chores she neglected until now. Her children would come in and talk about their latest pranks. They would sit at the table and she'll ask how the battle with Gary went. Afterwards she'll let them play video games until it's time for bed.

But the few minutes turn to a half hour, then an hour when Delia begins to really worry. Her children have never been out this long when she calls them home. And with the fire so close, they wouldn't stay out too long, knowing she'll worry for them.

With that thought, Delia left her home to look for them. She asks her neighbors if they had seen Ash, since they don't know about Rainbow, only to have her heart fall when they said they haven't. Getting desperate, she thinks back to where her children like to play. But each area resulted in knowing nothing other than they hadn't been there. Finally she went back to the last place she saw them.

* * *

"We need to focus on the dry areas before the fire spreads there," she hears Professor Oak says as she makes it to the back where he is. She could see Pokémon running around in a controlled chaotic manner. Looking to the woods by the property she could see the flames of the fire. While it looks far enough away, she knew just how quickly fire can spread.

"Professor Oak, I need to talk to you," she says, trying not to get in the way of the Pokémon.

"Not now, Delia," he says as he corral the Pokémon to where they need to go. "I have to focus on this."

"Have you seen my children anywhere? I can't find them," she says, ignoring the fact he really needs to focus on the crisis happening.

"Delia," he says firmly while looking at her. The look in his eyes causes her to stop and actually listen. "Use your head; get inside your children's mind and think like they do. That's always something you preach to them, is it not?"

He doesn't wait to see what she does and went back into ordering the different Pokémon around. Delia couldn't hear anything or see what is happening around her. Her mind is so focus on what the professor said her body could barely do anything else.

She taught her children that the world is far too dangerous to explore. Rainbow took these lessons to heart, but Ash… she may have been female, but she was also the more adventurous of the two. When she learned her illusions, mainly her male human persona, she has been pushing the limits of their skills and what they can get away with.

Ash has always wanted to see the world, and to have friends. She always dreamed, and schemed, going as far as to becoming a Pokémon Trainer. Rainbow does what he could to protect his sister, even going as far as to being her starter…

Suddenly Delia knew just where her children have gone. Since Ash has her license, and Rainbow was willing to be a servant… but the charms she bought wouldn't have lasted long… As quick as lightning strikes, Delia wished she wasn't so blind and could hit her head against something.

She has left a bag full of charms. She had just though they were going to choose a charm and fight Gary, but she hadn't thought they would take the bag and leave! To make matters worse; those charms would only last a day or two each! That would be long enough for someone to realize what they are and catch them.

She brought herself back to reality and sees the flames of the fire once more. If her children were on that path when it started… she shakes the thought out before it could finish. Either way, her children would be in Viridian City. But since the road is closed, she's going to have to take a different, much longer route. As such she wouldn't get there for a few days, if things go well.

"I'll be leaving now, Professor," she says coldly as she turns around to leave. "However! I do expect my garden to be alive when I get back!"

What she doesn't know is how relieve Professor Oak is with how things went. She wouldn't know how he feared this encounter nor would she know just how far he would go just so her children can leave. All she knows is her children are in danger and she has to get them back, even defying the gods themselves if she has to.

She promised their father she would protect them. She has no desire to break this promise.

* * *

 **AN: Finally! This chapter nearly ended me! Are you surprised? Do you like it? When I said thieves attacked the center, I didn't mean TR.**

 **Unfortunately I can't continue this story for a while. I am in the process of getting a job and won't have time for it until everything settles down.**

 **Now, if wanting to see Delia in this chapter wasn't so popular, I would have ended the chapter right before Professor Oak, after Ash woke up. With that and how hard I struggled with this chapter, my sister doesn't want me doing polls again.**

 **I'll be switching character point of views because I do like how it looks. Besides, we get to see that reactions of other characters to the same problem! I mean, we saw Gary so that's good... right?**

 **I do need suggestions as to what the poached Pokemon are. I already got two of them but I need a few more. Hint; they can't be native to Kanto and Johto.**


	8. Chapter 6

**AN: I Do Not Own Pokemon! Who's excited for the Alola Region? I know I am!**

 **Sorry for the long wait. My grandmother, who happens to be my favorite, died in June and I have been having trouble getting back into writing. This chapter isn't nearly as long as I would have liked, but you have waited long enough.**

 **If there are any mistakes, please let me know. Also, I am still open for suggestions on what the poached Pokemon can be. Remember it has to be not native to Kanto and Johto and cannot be a mythical Pokemon nor a legendary.**

 **For example, bigpboy has given quiet a selection. Here's what he said;** For the poached Pokémon, I would look at ones that can be found in the early-game areas (before the first gym that you can challenge) in remakes.

In Kanto (HG/SS), that would be Wurmple, Poochyena, Plusle, Minun, Shinx, Kricketot, Spoink, Budew, Carnivine, Baltoy, and Gulpin.  
In Johto (HG/SS), that would be Taillow, Linoone, Whismur, Bidoof, Buizel, Makuhita, Absol, Chingling, Bronzor, and Whiscash (excluding Pokémon that also appear early-game in Kanto).  
In Hoenn (OR/AS), that would be Lillipup, Sewaddle, Shellos, Chatot, Tympole, Gothita, Pidove, Cottonee, and Phantump (I'm not including Zorua or Paras for obvious reasons).  
Of course, if you would rather the Pokémon be weaker (not evolved), you can easily bring in Zigzagoon and Barboach, along with any other Pokémon that tend to be found/obtainable early-game (starters, elemental monkeys, Patrat, Purrloin, Bunnelby, and Starly come to mind).

 **I'm unsure just how many Pokemon Ash rescued from the poachers, so some feedback would be nice.**

* * *

The morning after the eventful night was just as chaotic. People are still talking, some more frightened than others, while NEWS personnel work hard getting all the facts they could and airing them nationwide.

How does a city react to the most dangerous crime spree ending with a place of healing, a sanctuary, blowing up? Well, panic, spreading rumors that may or may not be true and fear come to mind. Basically the whole city is in a sort of uproar.

When this happens, the local police department and the local gym make a statement to calm the citizens. Of course, some people aren't satisfied with what is said and some would twist these statements to cause more panic and put the blame on those who don't deserve it. It's a very delicate process, one that both Officer Jenny and Giovanni are used to.

"It is thanks to the cooperation between the Viridian Police Department and the Viridian Gym that these dangerous people are caught. And while it is sad that the cost is the Pokémon Center, it is a miracle that there were no life lost in these fights," the city's mayor says before stepping away from the podium and towards the Nurse Joy of said Pokémon Center.

"Mayor, you know fully well that isn't the case," she whispers harshly. "The Pokémon in the fight…"

"Isn't worth telling the people," he interrupts with a wave of his hand. "If the people knew, they would never trust leaving their injured Pokémon at a Pokémon Center again."

"While most details are classified and the case is still open," Officer Jenny says, catching the attention of both the mayor and Nurse Joy, "I'd just like to say that if it weren't for our local gym, the police department and two unidentified trainers, last night would have been a lot worse than it was."

"What is going to happen to the thieves Pokémon?" a reporter asks suddenly. Giovanni steps onto the podium before Officer Jenny and the mayor could reply.

"The thieves Pokémon are going to be rehabilitated by me and the police," he says calmly. "If, however, they can't be rehabilitated or happens to be a danger to the citizens, well, I believe you know the answer."

"I know you say no lives were lost, but what about the Pokémon fighting?" another reporter asks. The mayor was about to take back the podium but Giovanni wouldn't give him the chance.

"Most of the Pokémon being treated have been safely sent to other centers for treatment," the gym leader says. His voice then gave a more soft tone when he spoke. "However, some of the Pokémon being treated had decided to fight back. I don't know all of the details and most of the details I do know I can't share at this time.

"But I will say this; Pokémon are very protective of what is theirs, whether it's a home, food or their family, they would give their very life to protect it. It's a trait trainer who treat their Pokémon with respect understand, and sometimes abuse. And it is this trait that resulted in the climax of the fight which blew up the Pokémon Center."

"If it weren't for the center's Pokémon then Nurse Joy wouldn't be standing here right now," Officer Jenny adds before anyone could get a word in. "These Pokémon refuse to leave her side until they knew she was safe. In fact, we had a hard time getting those pikachu off of her so she could be here without getting a new hairdo."

Quiet laughter followed that comment. The gloomy atmosphere of the Pokémon seems to have dissolved in an instant. But the calmness that had come quickly left when someone asks; "What if Team Rocket attacks? Or more thieves?"

"We will look into how to better work the system so something like this won't happen again," the mayor says, finally taking the podium. "I do believe that crime doesn't pay and sooner or later, those on the wrong side of the law will get caught and brought to justice."

"What the mayor is trying to say is," Giovanni says calmly, interrupting the mayor before he could go on a heated rant, "we are sworn to protect the city in which we work and live in. That something so horrendous has happened on our watch is unacceptable and we will work together to prevent this from happening again."

Officer Jenny then takes the podium, much to the mayor's displeasure. "I would also like to add that I am glad Gym Leader Giovanni and his men are here to help. And I believe that as long as he's here, thieves of all kind, including Team Rocket, should fear them."

Applause and cheers that followed cry loud in agreement. The mayor then takes over and starts reassuring people that the Pokémon Center is in the process of being rebuilt, but it'll take some time. He also assures them that they are looking into ways to prevent something like this from happening again.

"Is everything alright, Nurse Joy?" Giovanni asks quietly, causing the nurse to jump slightly. "You seem… distracted."

"I'm fine," she says with a dismissive wave. However, Giovanni wasn't convinced and has moved closer to her.

"Your life and the life and well-being of your patients were threatened by very dangerous men, your treatment center was blown up and, might I add, a patient of yours died, leaving behind life yet to be lived; sorry if I don't believe you are fine," he whispers in her ear.

"Why do they do it?" she asks violently, though still in a whisper. "Why do… people, just think a life of a Pokémon is nothing, and yet when a human life is threatened and/or lost, they treat it as the worst possible thing!"

"It's because those people don't understand Pokémon like we do," Officer Jenny says as she steps beside her. "To them, Pokémon are not living things that deserve the respects humans gets."

"And people, like my mother, only sees them as tools, weapons and easy money," Giovanni adds while guiding the ladies offstage. "Unfortunately for me, her sins have passed onto me. It's something I have to change."

"Does this have to do with your strongest Pokémon?" Officer Jenny asks quietly. She and Giovanni look around to make sure no one's interested in them.

"My mother only saw Pokémon as tools for profit and battle," he says as they found a place to talk without much fear of being overheard. "That Pokémon is the result of it. Obviously I have a different view on Pokémon than she has and I am trying to make said Pokémon understand they are more than weapons."

"Well, it seems to be working," Nurse Joy says as she holds herself while remembering the night before. She doesn't even realize she's shaking. "He seemed to be in control of his powers…"

"Nurse Joy, I think you better sit down," Officer Jenny says as Giovanni grabs a chair and puts it behind the distraught nurse. Nurse Joy barely registers any of this as the events of the night before came crashing in.

Tears rushes out before she even realize they're there as her whole body shakes. She barely registers arms wrapping around her as her mind is replaying those moments she thought she wouldn't live to see another day. Moments she forced herself not to think about during it.

"It's okay, you're safe now," a voice she recognizes but couldn't figure out who it belongs to says as it is gently and caring. Sobs escape her throat as she leans into the one holding her. She's safe now, her fellow nurse Pokémon are safe. As she thinks this, the voice says firmly yet still caring; "Everything is going to be okay now. I'll make sure of it."

* * *

"Can I have a one-way ticket to Johto, please?" The man behind the counter turns his attention to the child, a new trainer by the looks of it with a tired-looking pikachu on his shoulder, before typing the order in on the computer.

"That'll be 325 Poké[$]," he says as he brings the total up. "You can just swipe your Pokédex on the scanner there and it'll take the money out of your account."

The boy pulls out his Pokédex and swipes it across the scanner. A small beep confirms the transaction and the ticket, as well as the receipt, prints out. The man takes the ticket and the receipt and hands them to the trainer. "Here you go. Your bus leaves in ten minutes. Have a nice day."

"Thank-you sir, you to," the trainer says as he takes both items and leaves.

 _"Remind me again why we're doing this,"_ Rainbow asks as soon as they were out of earshot of people.

 _"To throw Mom off,"_ Ash whispers. _"Now be quiet until we are alone and away from here."_

 _"Hey,"_ Rainbow says. _"Unless there are humans who can understand Pokémon, you're the one who needs to keep quiet!"_

 _"Do you want to find out?"_ Ash asks in a low voice as they approached the bus. There were a lot of people waiting to get on. Luckily for them, the line is moving at a decent pace. Soon enough they were on the bus and seated.

'Alright, now for phase two,' she thinks as she looks around. Seeing everyone preoccupied with settling in, Ash and Rainbow focuses on their powers to create an illusion of themselves while turning into two rattata. Once that is done, they placed a special charm in the seat.

The charm is an illusion-timer charm that keeps an illusion for a certain amount of time, no matter where the caster is. It's perfect for young illusionists who are just starting on their illusions to help encourage them. For Ash and Rainbw right now, it's the perfect distraction, a perfect lure for their mother.

 _"It's in place,"_ Ash says quietly while putting a regular charm on as her brother does the same. _"Let's go before the door closes."_

 _"Way ahead of you,"_ Rainbow whispers back while running towards the bus door. Luckily for them, the bus driver didn't close the door until after they got out.

 _"To the woods before the storm hits,"_ Ash says while running ahead of her brother. Rainbow didn't have time to reply before Ash was out of his sight. He sighs a bit before running after his sister, hoping to catch up before something happens.

* * *

"Now where had that boy and his pikachu gone?" the redhead girl from the night before asks herself. She went to the room he was staying at, only to learn he had left. Not knowing his plans, whether he is staying in Kanto or heading to Johto or if he's even entering a league, she has no idea where to start looking for him.

She sighs as she thinks about the night before. Both the boy and his pikachu flickered in the light. At first she thought it was the poor lighting that caused it. But when the center blew up…

It was only a moment before everything went black, but she could have sworn they just disappeared. The next thing she notices was waking in a hospital with doctors and chancey looking over her, making sure she's alright, as well as informing her on the condition of her Pokémon.

"I have to find them," she says to herself as she shakes her head. "They owe me a bike and two special lures."

'I have to make sure they don't get caught,' her thoughts at the back of her mind say. Because no matter how much she tries to convince herself otherwise; she could care less for her bike and lures just as long as they are safe.

* * *

 **AN: Again, if there are any mistakes, please let me know.**

 **I was going to add a chancey asking the spearow flock and the growlithe to help her deliver something to Ash, but I ran into a writers block with that. I think I'll just skip that part and go straight into Viridian Forest.**

 **For something totally unrelated to Pokemon, I have some story ideas I would love to read but I will never be able to write, or is highly unlikely that I would. If anyone is interested in writing them, please let me know. The rules, and the ideas, are on my profile.**

 **Here's the main one I really want to read about that I haven't found before. Harry Potter; When Petunia learns she can't do magic, she decides that instead of hating magic, she can just learn a different kind; Stage Magic. Or Petunia learns to become a magician instead of a witch.**


End file.
